World Enough and Time
by smidget
Summary: Lily Luna Potter wakes up in 1997 with no memory of how she got there while her family, twenty five years later, struggles to find out what happened to her and how to get her back. Time travel. Next-Gen!
1. Waking Up

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and I make no profit.**

* * *

><p><strong>Welcome to the lovely new and improved World Enough and Time. It has been over two years since the original version was completed and looking back I have decided to rework a few of the plot points and clean up the writing. This is not an overly ambitious project as parts of the story will remain largely the same (particularly the early chapters), but it is one that I am excited about nonetheless.<strong>

**For any new readers that happen upon this I highly recommend that you stick to reading this version. If all goes according to plan this will be both a more enjoyable read and a smoother plot. I can safely guarantee that it will not be a long wait between updates. The story and the chapters are short and it has been easy going so far.**

**I'd also like to take a moment to make mention of my original beta, ellaminnowpea, who helped tremendously with the original version. Although I am undertaking this further revision entirely on my own, without her the story likely would have ended up an uncompleted mess.**

**One thing that is not apparent in this chapter but that I have changed from the original is Lily's middle name. While I have known_ from the time the family tree came out_ that Lily's middle name is Luna, I changed it in the original version to Patrice. Despite author's notes noting the deliberate change I received countless messages pointing this out to me and so in this version I have kept Lily's middle name canon.**

**While my writing is still nothing impressive, I'd like to think it has at least improved from the time I started the original story back in 2007. (Has it really been that long?) I would truly love to hear your thoughts whether you have read the old version or not.**

**So, without further delay, here's chapter one.**

* * *

><p><strong>World Enough and Time - Chapter One<strong>

**Waking Up**

Lily woke slowly, unconsciously pulling the heavily layered, linen covers closer to her body to hold in the warmth that surrounded her. She kept her eyes shut, her drowsy mind slowly taking stock of her physical surroundings – the firm but lumpy pillow beneath her head, the starched, scratchy feel of the sheets against her legs. She could not remember what she had been dreaming about but a vague sense of unease settled over her as she continued to wake up. While her thoughts continued to sluggishly creep to the surface Lily registered a light _tick tick tick_ sounding near her right ear.

For a moment Lily could not place the sound but she soon identified it as the soft tick of the second hand on her wrist watch. Although Lily never went to sleep with her watch still on there was no denying that she was now waking with it still firmly clasped on her wrist. A gift from her mother, Lily had always taken special care of delicate time piece, removing it each evening and placing it on her nightstand. So why was she wearing it now? Had she fallen asleep in the common room?

No. Lily was quite certain she was in bed. She opened her eyes to further inspect her surroundings but immediately shut them again due to a bright white glare that flashed at her eyes. For a moment they stung and watered and Lily let out a small, sleepy groan. She had never been particularly fond of mornings.

Taking more care to shield her eyes from the light, she rolled onto her back and lifted an arm over her face causing the muscles in her shoulder to protest painfully. Lily slowly peeked through her eyelids and her surroundings came into focus. The sun was shining brightly through a window right across from her and reflecting off the surprisingly white room. Pale stone walls, lines of white beds, white tables, white walls of curtains here and there along the room – the Hospital Wing.

_The Hospital Wing?_

Lily sat up and rubbed at her eyes. She tried to remember what had happened the day before, anything that could give her a clue as to why she would be waking up, sore and groggy, in the Hospital Wing. Her hair was loose and ruffled from sleep and it now fell into her eyes and to the sides of her face, the tousled red curtains contrasting sharply with the stark white hall she occupied. She felt sore all over but after a quick mental inventory found that there were no obvious cuts or bruises. Perhaps she had been hexed or jinxed.

The next thing that occurred to her was that she was still dressed in her school uniform. Or rather, she was partially dressed in her uniform. Her skirt and off-white top were crumpled and stiff but her scarlet and gold tie and black robe were draped across a chair next to her bed. Her wand was nowhere in sight.

As Lily tried and failed to dredge up any memories of what could have happened to land her in the Hospital Wing her head started to ache and she groaned. She gripped her head in both hands and waited for the pain to subside, which it did after a few minutes and then it was as if the pain had never come at all. Lily sighed and rubbed at her eyes again. With a quick glance around the long room she saw that all of the other beds were empty and that it seemed to be late morning. One of the windows along the opposite wall was open and a pleasant breeze came through but from what Lily could tell the grounds were nearly silent. Most everyone was almost certainly in class by now.

She glanced down at her watch – half past eleven – almost time for lunch.

A rustle of clothing sounded as Madame Pomfrey swept out of her office at the other end of the wing and Lily's head spun in the direction of the noise. One of the matron's arms was full of rolls of parchment while her other was held out in front her as she waved her wand and levitated several potions into a nearby cabinet. She busied herself in the cabinet for a few moments, her back to Lily, before she spun and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. She straightened, brushed down her skirts and said, "Oh wonderful, you're awake."

Lily nodded as Madame Pomfrey briskly crossed the hall towards her and could not help but think that there was something different about the nurse. She could not quite put her finger on what precisely was off, but at the sudden sight of a wand in her face all thoughts except _panic_ flew from her mind. There was no need to worry however as Madame Pomfrey made a few waves and jabs, muttering to herself and then she replaced her wand in the pocket of her robes, apparently satisfied.

"I told the Headmaster I would let him know when you woke." Her tone was very formal and Lily frowned. Had she done something wrong, broken some sort of terrible rule that had resulted in her injury? Lily had always been on very good terms with the nurse and the cold tone left her feeling even more disoriented than she had upon waking.

She said nothing but watched as Madame Pomfrey walked swiftly from the ward and into the corridor beyond. Only when she was once again alone did Lily really register what the matron had said. She had said _Headmaster._ But Hogwarts did not have a Headmaster. Minerva McGonagall was _Headmistress_ of Hogwarts and had been for as long as Lily could remember, since before even Teddy had gone off to school.

Frustrated that she could not pull up any memory whatsoever of how she had gotten there and how with each passing moment she became more confused, Lily pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. There was nothing to do but wait for… whoever was coming. She sighed and tried to ignore the headache that was slowly returning. It was a few minutes later that she heard footsteps coming down the corridor. From what she could tell there were two people and they were walking quickly. Lily felt suddenly nervous. _Where _was her wand?

Hoping to see a friendly, or at least familiar, face Lily eagerly watched the doors to the Hospital Wing swing open. But she was instantly disappointed. While she did see a familiar face it was perhaps one of the least welcome she could imagine because _that_ man was supposed to be dead.

* * *

><p>Albus woke quickly to a rough hand shaking his shoulder. He swatted it away and rolled over.<p>

"Albus! Al, wake up!" The whispered voice was hoarse and urgent. Al twisted onto his side and squinted at the form next to him. Blinking the sleep from his eyes he recognized Neville Longbottom standing next to him. What was Neville doing in his dormitory?

"What?" he croaked, his voice scratchy from sleep. Neville looked distinctly troubled. "What's wrong? What are you doing here?"

"Come on, not here," Neville said quietly. His face was pale so that in the dim light of the dungeons he looked almost like a ghost. His hands were wringing nervously. Something was definitely wrong. Al did not question the professor any further but instead got out of bed and followed him out into the common room. The fire that had been lit in the grate a few hours earlier had now completely died out and the room held a distinct chill that only the dungeons ever really achieved.

"Nev-" Albus stopped himself. "Professor, what's going on? Is something wrong? Why didn't Professor Hodgens come get me?"

Neville did not turn around as he exited the common room, Albus following close behind him. As they started down the corridor he merely said, "This is a personal matter, I didn't think it necessary to involve your Head of House."

The pair did not speak again as Neville continued to lead Albus through the chilly corridors. He wished he had put on some sort of shoes as his bare feet were especially cold as he walked on the stone floors. After a few minutes they reached the stone gargoyle that marked the entrance to the Headmistress's office and Neville muttered the password before the gargoyle moved aside.

"Whatever it is, I didn't do it."

Neville did not laugh – he did not even smile. Neither did Albus. He was only half-joking.

"No," Neville said after a moment, "I'm sure you didn't."

His voice was grave and sincere and Al felt something lodge up in this throat. They had reached the top of the revolving staircase and Neville opened the door and entered without knocking. Al followed nervously behind him. Professor McGonagall was seated behind the great wooden desk, her lips pursed and her hands folded in front of her. She did not look surprised to see them.

Silence surrounded the three of them for a moment and Al awkwardly slipped into one of the high-backed chairs facing the Headmistress. He felt Neville walk up to stand behind him.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall began. "Albus…"

Al noticed the portrait directly behind Professor McGonagall give a slight cough and he knew it to be his namesake. Albus Dumbledore appeared to be asleep against his frame, quite like all the other former Heads of Hogwarts that lined the walls, but Al knew that they did not sleep half as much as they pretended to.

He turned his attention back to the current Headmistress and waited for her to continue. However when she did not, he felt increasingly uncomfortable. The grave tone and the use of his first name made Albus certain that something seriously had definitely happened. He suddenly felt as though he were on very unfamiliar ground here despite having been called to this office on a number of previous occasions.

"Yes?" he offered when McGonagall remained silent.

"It's about your sister. She's… "

Al's hands went slightly numb as he gripped the arms of the chair. "She's what, Professor?"

Professor McGonagall looked him directly in the eyes and said, "I'm afraid she's missing."

* * *

><p>"Albus Dumbledore is dead."<p>

Lily's arms were crossed tightly, her head tilted just slightly to the side, her entire pose speaking to the intense irritation she was feeling. She had been speaking with… with this _impostor_ for the last quarter of an hour and his calm refusal to recognize the fact that he was posing as a dead man – one of the greatest wizards of all time – was beginning to grate on her nerves. Not even for one fleeting second did Lily consider that this could be the man that she had heard so much about, the man one of her brothers was named after.

Madame Pomfrey had left for her office when she had arrived back at the Hospital Wing with whoever this man was. The fact that matron had seemed so calm about the situation, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, further convinced Lily that something was in fact very much amiss. The Poppy Pomfrey that Lily knew did not put up with any nonsense and she would certainly never stand for something as outrageous as this.

But she had left Lily alone with this strange man and with no wand at her disposal Lily was left with very few options but to continually insist that this man was not Albus Dumbledore.

He, on the other hand, was asking her the strangest questions. _How did you happen upon the Hogwarts grounds? Why is it that you are wearing a uniform and yet you are not currently enrolled?_ Lily had indignantly answered that she had been attending Hogwarts for over four years now but of course a dead man could not be expected to know such things. She then countered with her own interrogation. She wanted to know who she was talking to, why he was asking her these questions, how she had gotten here, and where her wand was located.

When he, once again, replied that his name was Albus Dumbledore Lily had snapped at him, once again, that Albus Dumbledore was dead. She said it with such finality that the man's white eyebrows rose and his blue eyes clouded over for a brief moment. They had been quite piercing until then and Lily was doing her best not to look away.

"I'm afraid I don't agree," the man stated, no sign of irritation crossing his features.

Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I don't know who you think you're kidding. The man's been dead for… what? Over twenty years now?"

The Dumbledore look-alike seemed to ruminate on that statement for a moment and then said, "Tell me your name and I will gladly tell you mine." There was no taunt in his voice, no challenge, no humor. It was an honest proposition and Lily heard herself responding before she had consciously decided to do so.

"Lily," she said and then stopped herself. She had only given her first name at least.

The man's lips turned up a bit as if in a smile and his gaze, once again, seemed to be looking into her. "Just 'Lily'," he said. "Nothing more?"

"I don't like to share it. I get a lot of stares."

"Not as many as myself, I assure you." He smiled.

"And why would that be?" Lily asked him with only faint sarcasm, "Because you introduce yourself as a dead man?"

"Well it's quite a long name – it does tend to carry on."

Lily quirked an eyebrow. "And what is your name exactly?"

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

For a moment Lily was caught off guard by the easy manner in which he rattled off the string of names. It was done with the sing-songy rhythm of someone who had said such a thing hundreds of times and it reminded her of the Dumbledore she had imagined from her father's countless stories. But her common sense pushed that aside and she sighed heavily before she said, "No, you're _not._"

"Then, may I ask, why would I pretend to be someone you are quite certain died before you were even born? Surely there would be very little to gain out of such a cheap trick. A pointless and rather futile deception."

This was precisely what Lily had been trying to work out from the moment she had seen him walk through the doors to the Hospital Wing. Why would someone impersonate a man so well-known and so obviously deceased? It would not fool anyone with even half a brain and then where would they be? Lily refrained from answering his questions and remained stubbornly silent as she glared at him.

His eyes were that fiercely sharp blue again. "Just a name, child," he said quietly.

Lily did not break eye contact with him. She knew that Albus Dumbledore had been one of the most skilled Legilimens in history and she knew that the real Albus Dumbledore would know in an instant if she lied. But she was not going to lie. She had no reason to. She was not going to pretend to be someone else while she accused the man across from her of the very same thing. Lily took a slow deep breath and let it out again, feeling unaccountably uneasy to be giving something as insignificant as her name.

"Lily… Potter," she said, braced for the usual display of recognition. But it was not recognition she saw in the man's expression. It was surprise. His blue eyes flashed for a moment and he studied her face as if looking for something but he made no other response. "Look into my mind if you can," Lily prompted brashly. "I'm not lying."

"No," he said gravely, as though he already had, "and neither am I. Which puts us in quite the unusual situation, does it not?"

* * *

><p>"<em>Missing?<em>" Albus did not care that his voice shook as the word came out. His little sister was _missing?_

Professor McGonagall's eyes softened briefly as she gazed at the student before her. Neville's hand had dropped onto his shoulder and the grip tightened when Al had repeated the treacherous word. But Albus did not understand why they were being so… so despondent about all of this. Surely Lily was not really missing as they insisted. It was the middle of the night and she was not in her bed, but it would not be the first time she had sneaked out of her dormitory. So he told them as much, knowing that they already knew.

"We've searched the entire castle. She's not here."

But Neville was lying. He had to be lying.

"Then she's gone to Hogsmeade," he said frantically, twisting in his chair to look up at Neville. "She can't have just disappeared."

"I'm afraid she's done just that," McGonagall said and Al spun back around to face her. He did not realize that he was becoming quite frantic. Neville moved from behind him and took the seat to Al's right. Albus looked frantically between the two Professors, both of whom he had known for quite a long time, not understanding why they were telling him this.

"How can you be sure," he demanded. "How can you be sure she's not here if you don't know _where_ she is?" His voice was almost a shout but he did not care. They must not have looked properly. If they had they would have found her and they would have given her detention and that would be the end of it. This was just some elaborate hoax, a trick, a lie. He did not believe them.

"I'm afraid it's not a question of where she is, Albus."

Al's head swiveled around to face Neville, a look of confusion on his face. Did they know where his sister was? Then, how was she missing? What was going on?

"So… you do know where she is?" He directed his question to Neville but it was Professor McGonagall who answered.

"Not exactly," she said as she pulled a box in front of her from the side of the desk. Albus had not noticed it before among all the other unexceptional items on the desk but now it held his full attention. The Headmistress's fingers wrapped tightly around the sides as though it held something of vital importance. Perhaps it did.

"It's not a question of where she is, Potter. It's a question of when."

Having no answer to this, and not entirely understanding the course the conversation had taken, Al leaned forward in his chair to better view the contents of the box. Professor McGonagall handed it to him and Albus took it with barely steady hands before placing it in his lap. The first thing he noticed inside was the Marauder's Map. This surprised him because he had lost it a few months before. He had felt awful about losing it, knowing how much it had meant to his father and to Teddy. He had been sneaking to kitchens after curfew and Filch had confiscated it. Although it had been blank at the time the old caretaker had still spitefully swiped it. Albus had only recently told his sister what had happened….

Al made a mental note to scour the map for "Lily Potter" at the earliest opportunity but he did not push the matter in front of two professors that, as far as he knew, did not know the truth about the aged parchment in front of him. He returned his focus to the box in his lap and saw that the map was not thing only thing it contained. There was also a small but noticeable amount of fine, white sand that spread across the bottom of the box, some shards of thin, broken glass, and a short golden chain. He did not immediately understand.

Albus looked up at the Professors, his mind trying to catch up as something icy seemed to settle in his stomach. _'It's a question of when.'_

These were the shattered remains of a time turner.


	2. The Headmaster's Office

**World Enough and Time – Chapter Two**

**The Headmaster's Office**

* * *

><p>"We were hoping, Albus, that you would have any sort of explanation for us. As it seems that is not the case we will wait for your parents to arrive to discuss the matter further."<p>

It was clear from Professor McGonagall's tone and the rare use of his first name that she was deeply troubled. Although her voice was steady there were clear signs of strain on her face and in her posture – the pursed lips, the short breathing, the stiff shoulders. Albus looked away and instead studied his knees.

As he continued to stare down at his lap his dark hair fell forward in front of his eyes. It was inky black and untidy like his father's, one of the many similarities the two of them shared. It had always been apparent that he bore more resemblance to their father than either James or Lily. Even had he not been able to see it clearly for himself people were always telling him so – that he looked so like his father, right down to the green of his eyes. He was the only Potter child to have inherited the bright green shade and because, unlike his father, he did not wear glasses it was quite noticeable. It matched the green of his school tie, and the crest on his robes. Also unlike his father, and unlike James and Lily, Albus had been placed in Slytherin.

James and Lily had both been placed in Gryffindor, and both were a more even mix of their parents' physical features. Both had their mother's brown eyes. Lily had their mother's red hair, the classic Weasley shade but stubbornly messy. James was always ruffling it further to annoy her.

Al's thoughts lingered on his siblings, and to keep from thinking too much about Lily he wondered what James was doing now. He was probably still sleeping – the sun was not quite up yet. When would he hear about Lily? What would they tell him? What would he say? Albus wished that he was still in bed, blissfully ignorant of his sister's sudden and mysterious disappearance.

Instead he remained in the Headmistress's office, Professor McGonagall and Professor Longbottom seated in chairs similar to the one he occupied and the three of them waited in silence for Al's parents to arrive. Neville had dispatched a Patronus to them a few minutes before but Albus did not know the exact content of the message. Since then Albus had felt unaccountably nervous, as though he would be in trouble for losing Lily when no one had any idea what had happened to her. He did not envy Professor McGonagall breaking the news to his parents and, from the extremely unsettled look that was frozen on his face, neither did Neville.

The box that McGonagall had handed him still sat in his lap and he stared at is as if the parchment and sand inside could reveal all the secrets to Lily's whereabouts. He had no idea where the time turner had come from or why it was found with the map or where – no, _when_ – Lily was. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that she was not asleep in her dorm or else roaming the castle halls. She was not anywhere in the world at the moment and that thought terrified him. Some part of him did not really want to understand the grim reality that was pressing in on him from all sides. His little sister was gone and he had no idea whether or not they would be able to get her back. As he continued to stare at the map he fought the urge to pull out his wand and search for her labeled dot on the parchment but then he realized that in his half-awake rush out of his dorm he had not even bothered to grab his wand.

"Albus, you're sure that you can't tell us about that parchment," Neville asked in a surprisingly knowing voice. Al looked up at him with no idea of how to respond. His first instinct was to tell them, to tell them and to search the map and find Lily. But he could search the map just as well on his own and if Lily truly had disappeared then revealing the map's secret could not help her.

Neville continued to stare at him and Albus sighed. "It… I think Lily may have been looking for it and that's why she was out of bed in the middle of the night. I think… I _know_ that Filch had it in his office."

Neville raised his eyebrows and Albus struggled to keep eye contact. He avoided looking at the Headmistress but could easily picture her frown and narrowed eyes. He had been neither helpful nor entirely truthful.

"Professor Longbottom, if you would kindly fetch Mr. Filch? Perhaps he would be able to give us some more information on the matter."

This was, of course, the last thing Albus wanted at the moment and he knew that McGonagall was calling his poor bluff. As Neville stood and turned toward the office door Albus had a brief internal struggle before he said quickly, "No, there's no need. I know what it is."

Neither professor looked surprised to hear this and they watched him expectantly, waiting for further explanation. With no other course but to lie, which would almost certainly be spotted, Albus sighed and told them. "It's a map, a map of Hogwarts."

Professor McGonagall raised one dark, graying eyebrow. Neville remained expressionless. Al shifted awkwardly in his seat. "It doesn't just show the castle though," he continued in a somewhat hollow voice. "It shows everyone in the castle. Where they are, what they're doing… and it's never wrong."

While he had shown no reaction to the revelation of the map this new information did seem to surprise Neville. McGonagall too looked shocked and, reluctantly, impressed.

"Al, do you realize-"

But Albus cut Neville off. "What I realize is that if Lily's in the castle, she's on the map. But you've said she's not in the castle, so I don't really see how this helps us." This did not, of course, stop him from hoping that they had missed something.

Expecting further argument Albus was surprised when neither adult pressed him for more information. Neville returned to his seat and they settled again into silence. He hoped that they would not ask him to operate the map – despite his hope, the possibility of further disappointment in the absence of a dot labeled _Lily Potter_ would surely be too much to handle. He wished his parents would arrive, though he dreaded their reactions upon hearing their daughter had disappeared.

His only comfort lay in the fact that, so many times before – how many times had he heard the stories? – his dad had done the impossible. He was Harry Potter, that had to count for something, didn't it? If anyone could bring Lily back surely it would be him. And they had to get Lily back. Considering any alternative was unacceptable.

Nevertheless Albus was truly scared for his sister. He continued to shift his weight around in the uncomfortable wooden chair, his eyes staring blankly at a spot on the floor but not seeing it. He repeated again and again to himself that Lily would be fine – she was a good witch and she had a sharp mind. She had quite a lot of magic under her belt for a fifth year and she was not afraid to use it.

Light was beginning to creep into the sky and the dark shapes of the grounds and the Quidditch pitch were becoming more distinct. The office was slowly lighting up with a gentle, yellow glow, the soft natural light a nice change from the torches that had been lit before. Suddenly another light added to the scene – a bright flash of green flames sprung up in the fireplace and Harry Potter stumbled slightly as he stepped out of it and onto the carpet. Al almost smiled. His dad never had gotten the hang of floo powder. But a moment later the levity of the situation was gone as if it had never been there and he looked back at the floor. He avoided meeting his father's eye but this was easy as a moment later the green flames sprang up again and Ginny Potter stepped out of them, much more gracefully than her husband. Only when the two of them were standing firmly on the office carpet did Al's father turn to the rooms other occupants. He looked worried, but not overly so. They did not know yet and Albus envied them.

"What's going on?"

The question was posed by Al's mother, her voice wary but cheerful enough. This was not the first occasion that the Potters had been called into this office since James (and even Teddy) had started at Hogwarts. Al looked up and watched his mother's smile falter as she took in the grave expressions of himself and the two professors. He looked away again.

Albus did not move as his father walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. He did not look up as he heard his mother speak again.

"Is… Albus in trouble? Is he okay?"

"I'm fine," Albus said quietly. "I'm not in trouble. It's… ." But he could not bring himself to say Lily's name. He did not want to be the one to tell them. His father squeezed his shoulder and Al felt only slightly comforted.

"What is it? What's happened?" Albus looked up again as his father spoke, saw the concern on his face and the impatience.

Professor McGonagall stood and walked around the desk. "It's Lily," she said quietly but firmly. Neville stood as well.

"Is she all right," his mother asked frantically. "Where is she?"

His father turned towards his old school friend. "Neville?"

_Don't say it_, Albus thought frantically. _Don't tell them. Lily's fine._

But Neville appeared to be stealing himself, he visibly swallowed and said, "Lily is… well, it's more a question of… when she is."

As he said this Professor McGonagall summoned the box from Albus's lap with a quick wave of her wand before she handed it to Al's father.

"We found these outside of the Great Hall. We have searched the entire castle and she is nowhere to be found." Albus could hear how much it pained the Headmistress to say this, to admit that a student vanished under her care. "I'm sorry, Harry. I don't know where she is."

Al took one brief glance at his parents' faces before he turned away, fighting the sudden urge to vomit all over the floor.

* * *

><p>Lily was feeling more nauseous with every moment that passed but she did her best to ignore this and instead gazed with interest at fascinating office. Lily had been in this office on a number of occasions though she knew it to be far less eccentric than what she was looking at now. There were all manner of odd objects throughout the room, strange silver things and whirred and hummed, cabinets filled with odds and ends that looked nothing like anything Lily had ever seen before. There were also the books and portraits that always covered the walls, all but two particular portraits that were noticeably missing.<p>

Albus Dumbledore was not immortalized on canvas in the office but was sitting in front of her where she was used to seeing Minerva McGonagall. Or, it certainly seemed that way.

Most of Lily's current discomfort was in the unwavering stare of the man across from her, his blue eyes focused intently on her. She shifted under his gaze and leaned back in the large cushioned chair that he had offered to her upon their arrival.

After hearing her name the Dumbledore look-a-like had suggested that they continue their conversation in his office and Lily understood such a suggestion to be more of a polite demand. Throughout the quick journey from the Hospital Wing to the Headmistress's – _Headmaster's?_ – office Lily had looked for any inconsistencies in all her memories of Hogwarts but everything seemed much the same as the castle that she had lived in for almost five years. Everything except this office.

As each uncomfortable minute ticked by, relentlessly counted by the watch still clasped to her wrist, Lily became increasingly inclined to believe that the man seated at the desk in front of her was, as he claimed, Albus Dumbledore. She had, of course, never met the man, but she felt as though she knew him. It probably had something to do with all the stories that her dad would tell, but whatever it was, there was something familiar about his face, his mannerisms. That twinkle in his eyes.

The would-be Dumbledoredore leaned forward in his chair slightly, one arm covering other. Lily fiddled absently with her watch. Dumbledre followed her movement and asked, "Do you happen to have the time, Ms. Potter?"

Lily's eyebrows rose and she blinked at him for a second before glancing down at her watch. "It's… almost ten."

But as soon as she had said it, it sounded wrong. She knew it was wrong. She had looked at her watch after waking up in the Hospital Wing and it had been half past eleven. "No," she said, unaware that she was speaking out loud. She looked down at her watch again, more closely this time. The hands clearly indicated that it was seven minutes until ten. She peered at it more closely still and gasped. The second hand was moving steadily with its usual _tick tick tick…_ in the _wrong_ direction. She looked up at the man in front of her and, all qualms over his identity forgotten, said in a tone of amazement, "My watch, it's going _backwards_."

"Fascinating." He paused. His eyes were twinkling. "Perhaps it is merely trying to set itself to the proper time."

Lily narrowed her eyes skeptically. "You mean, it's actually earlier than my watch _thinks_ it is?"

"Much earlier," Dumbledore agreed. "I'm afraid it could take years for it to catch up."

He was leading her. But Lily was not in the mood for vague puzzles and hints. She tapped at the glass coving the watch face, frustrated that it was inexplicably and persistently moving in the wrong direction.

"What year do you think it is, Ms. Potter?"

Lily paused in her mental berating of the shoddy time piece and slowly looked up. This man really was mad. "And what kind of question is that?"

Those blue eyes, so piercing and sharp, looked directly into hers and there was no smile on her face. "The right one, I believe."

* * *

><p>Al had only heard the story once of how his father had, when he was fifteen and distraught, destroyed parts of Albus Dumbledore's office. Silver trinkets shattered, tables overturned, and lots of shouting. It had been very hard to believe as his father was rarely destructive or loud and even then only under extreme circumstances. However, he now believed every word of that story.<p>

As Albus looked around the Headmistress's office it was strange to see it in such disarray. Professor McGonagall still sat behind her desk looking quite frazzled, her sharp tone having been quite ineffective in calming Harry Potter's misplaced emotional magic. Only Al's mother had been able to settle him before the room was entirely torn apart. The two of them now sat pressed closely together on a sofa against rear wall of the room, Al's father with his head in his hands, his mother leaning against his shoulder, an arm around his back.

It was deathly quiet now, a stark contrast to the commotion of a few minutes earlier. Al was still sitting in the same chair. He felt incapable of standing and could think of nowhere to go even if he could rise from his seat. Now in the silence the office was beginning to feel very claustrophobic. He, at least, was having more trouble breathing than usual – his chest tight with anxiety and a barely contained churning in his stomach. No one was looking at him but he felt very conscious of every movement he made. Albus wished someone would say something.

Finally it was Neville who spoke. He was hunched forward with his elbows resting on his knees and he said what Albus was sure they were all wondering. "So, what are we going to do?"

A voice in Al's mind immediately countered, _What do can we_, but he chose not to voice such a hopeless question. Instead it was his father who responded to Neville.

"There has to be something," he said without raising his head. "We just need to figure out what. We need to find out exactly what happened before we can even think of fixing it."

For the first time since entering the office and hearing the news of his sister's disappearance Albus felt the slightest hope and his chest felt a little less tight. His father's face was pale and stretched with worry but there was also a determination there that further buoyed Al's spirits. Again he was stuck by the thought that if anyone could do the impossible and save his sister it would be Harry Potter.

* * *

><p>Lily was very still in her chair as she stared at the man before her, his absurd question hanging in the air between them. While she could easily forgive the strangeness of him asking her the year she could not as easily dismiss the troubling and impossible suggestion it implied.<p>

"You think," she started slowly, watching the would-be Dumbledore carefully, "that I've… traveled through time?"

She almost could not bring herself to say it – it sounded even more ridiculous out loud than it had in her head. But there was no sign of laughter or surprise in the old man's expression, which told Lily that this was precisely what he thought had happened.

"That's impossible," she snapped immediately, but her heartbeat quickened even as she repeated in her head,_ impossible, impossible._

"I'm afraid our circumstances tell a different story." Still he was calm and serene and Lily would have laughed but for the rising panic somewhere in her gut.

She swallowed and shifted her weight restlessly in the cushioned chair. "People don't travel through time. I mean, there are time turners I suppose, but they only work for a few hours and I don't even have one and-" but she stopped took a deep steadying breath. More than anything Dumbledore's calm expression as he watched her was causing her disstress. Surely if this were some sort of elaborate joke he would be laughing or smiling or _something_ but he acted as though nothing unusual whatsoever was going on and it was maddening. Nothing had made sense since Lily had woken up in the Hospital Wing and she just wanted answers, was that so much to ask for?

Lily ran a hand through her still tousled hair and then rested her elbows on her knees. After having been wearing them since some time the day before her clothes were becoming itchy and uncomfortable. She put her face in her hands and spoke into her palms, her voice muffled but clear.

"If this is some sort of joke, it isn't funny."

"Certainly no one is laughing," Dumbledore said quietly. "If, as you claim, I have been dead for over twenty years, and if, as I claim, I am alive and well then we cannot both be telling the truth except in one especially rare case. Extraordinary as these circumstances are, I would not lie to you, Ms. Potter. Perhaps if you could explain how you came to be here?"

Lily did not look up from her hands but once again set her mind to trying to recall what had happened the night before. She remembered going to classes during the day – Potions, Transfiguration and Ancient Runes. She remembered dinner, talking to Joshua Jordan about the upcoming Quidditch match – Hugo had teased her later in the Common Room. But when she tried to go further her head started to ache again, dully at first but with rapidly increasing intensity. After a moment the painful throbbing had reached such a point that she could no longer coherently gather her thoughts and Lily looked up from her hands. Dumbledore was watching her, something like concern on his face.

"Ms. Potter?"

"I don't know," she whispered and felt her shoulders slump. Her headache was quickly easing but still present. "I can't remember."

For the first time since waking up Lily felt suddenly fearful. How could she trust any of this to be true if she could not even remember how she had come to be here in the first place? How could she ever believe the man across from her to be Albus Dumbledore when he was supposed to be dead? _When am I going to wake up from this nightmare?_

And that was the question, really. _When?_

"How do I know I can trust you," she asked him flatly. "How can I know that you are who you say you are, that I really have somehow traveled through time?" She still felt absurd saying that aloud. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Lily did not want to be in this bizarre version of the Headmistress's office anymore. She did not want to be talking to his man who claimed such terrible things. She felt tears prickle behind her eyes and blinked them angrily away. She would not cry in front of him. Willing herself not to lose control, Lily took a deep breath and calmed her breathing.

"Prove to me that you really are Albus Dumbledore."

"How dare you, you insolent child."

Lily froze and stared at the man seated at the desk in front of her but then she realized that he had not been the one to speak. One of the portraits, one that Lily recognized quite well from Grimmauld Place, was no longer pretending to sleep but was staring at her haughtily from his frame.

"Phineas," Dumbledore said warningly and Phineas Nigellus turned his glare upon the Headmaster.

"She dares to speak to the Headmaster in such a way! Really, Dumbledore, the atrocities you let these children get away with."

"Oh hush, Phineas," said one of the portraits high up to Lily's right. It was a former Headmistress that Lily did not recognize. She was plump and smiling. "Things were just getting interesting!"

Lily's eyes widened indignantly and she opened her mouth to protest but did not have time to get a word in. Some of the other portraits had begun murmuring to each other and Lily watched in surprise as they leaned into each other's frames to whisper and point and she suddenly felt as though she were part of some sort of zoo exhibit.

"I was merely trying to see that the Headmaster be treated with the proper respect," Phineas replied loudly, his nose in the air. "Clearly his fondness for Potters is clouding his better judgment. As usual."

"That's quite enough, Phineas," Dumbledore said in a quiet, but firm voice and at his words all the portraits fell silent. Not a single one was now feigning sleep but rather they were watching Lily and Dumbledore with unabashed interest. Lily felt her cheeks warm up. Realization settled into her brain.

"You really… you really are Albus Dumbledore? I thought…," Lily continued to stare at the portraits of the former Headmasters and Headmistresses and they started back at her, some with faint smiles, others as though they were studying her. "The portraits… they only… they wouldn't recognize an imposter," she said, surprised at how steady her voice was while her stomach churned and her mind fogged up.

It really was the only explanation that really made sense, even if it was completely mad. Madame Pomfrey had not recognized her, the Headmistress's office was not how she remembered it, and the portraits clearly respected the man behind the desk and, her watch – her watch was going _backwards_. Lily leaned forward and rested her forehead on her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"When exactly am I," she asked, eyes clenched shut and heart pounding as she waited for the answer.

She heard Albus Dumbledore sigh very quietly before he said, "It is April eleventh, Ms. Potter, and it is nineteen ninety seven."

* * *

><p><strong>AN. Here's chapter two. I'd love to hear your thoughts.<strong>


	3. Meals and Meetings

**World Enough and Time – Chapter Three**

**Meals and Meetings**

_Come on, Lily. It's only breakfast._

Of the countless times Lily had walked to the Great Hall to eat breakfast this was the first time that she had only made it as far as the doorway. As soon as the cheerful sounds of students chatting and laughing and the clang of silverware had started to reach her, her legs had slowed and eventually stopped until she stood just a few steps from the entrance, frozen with nerves.

How many familiar faces would she see inside? How many did she want to see? Most likely her parents were in that room, Aunt Hermione, Uncle Ron…. The night before when Lily had first realized that she was roughly the same age as her parents and they were in the school with her she had fled to the nearest toilet and lost her supper. It was another shock to realize that James and Al, Hugo and Rose and Teddy and _her_ – none of them even existed yet. Remembering this now as she stood outside the Great Hall Lily shuddered.

She had awoken early that morning, desperately hoping that the events of the previous day had been nothing more than a disturbing dream, the result of too many chocolate frogs before bed. But for the second day in a row she had first opened her eyes to unwelcome surroundings. She had spent the night in the Hospital Wing but since then an extra bed had been placed in the fifth year girl's dormitory in Gryffindor Tower. Lily dreaded going there, not least because she would be sharing a room with a fifteen-year-old Ginny Weasley. Her mother.

Well, not yet, she reminded herself and sighed. She walked over to the side of the large doorway and leaned against the stone wall. She rubbed at her face and exhaustion settled into her. Still not yet ready to face the students in the Great Hall Lily went over her cover story once again.

Hogwarts did not accept exchange students – Lily doubted whether such a thing existed in the magical world – and so the possibility of her previously having attended Beauxbatons or some other magical school was out of the question. But Hogwarts was known as one of the safest havens in existence and times were dark (something else she would have to get used to) so seeking shelter in the castle was not too far of a stretch, nor was it entirely a lie. Lily was safer at Hogwarts than anywhere else at the moment.

And so Lily was now posing as the recently orphaned niece of Professor Minerva McGonagall. She had no other family now her parents were dead and so she was left in the care of her aunt. Previously she had been homeschooled, which was rare for witches and wizards but not entirely unheard of. None of this would raise more than innocent curiosity.

Of course, Dumbledore's plan did require that Professor McGonagall be aware of the current situation. Lily sighed and ran a hand through her perpetually messy hair as recalled their particularly awkward meeting the day before. Immediately upon leaving the Headmaster's office they had made their way to the Transfiguration classroom. It had been so strange to walk through corridors that Lily knew so well and to feel so out of place.

Professor McGonagall had been, understandably, quite disbelieving at first.

"You expect me to believe that this is Harry Potter's daughter from the future," she had asked, her eyes narrowed, her lips thin, anger barely contained beneath the surface.

"Well, when you put it like that-" Lily had started but stopped at the look Professor Dumbledore gave her. He then turned to the irate Minerva McGonagall and said, simply, "Yes."

"Albus, surely-"

"I have my reasons, Minerva. I trust her."

There had been a brief, tense silence before McGonagall nodded and that had been the end of it. The two professors had discussed the finer points of the arrangement while Lily sat at one of the long desks, idly tracing small circles in the wood of the desktop and pretending not to notice as McGonagall stole furtive glances at her.

Lily was not looking forward to Transfiguration class.

She cringed and slid down the wall until she was seated on the floor against it, her knees pulled up to her chest. Her hand searched in the pocket of her robes for her wand, which had been returned the day before, and she felt slightly comforted. It had been unnerving walking around without it.

The uniform she had arrived in had been laundered and returned to her sometime in the night and when Lily woke it was sitting neatly atop a trunk that had appeared at the foot of her bed. A quick inspection of its contents had revealed it to contain a few sets of robes and most of the items she would need for her various classes.

She was just considering the possibility of skipping breakfast altogether when the sound of approaching footsteps caused her to look up. A girl with long, wavy, blond hair and wide blue eyes was standing in front of her, a small smile on her face and nothing in her expression that suggested she found it odd that Lily was seated, alone, in the Entrance Hall.

Lily felt that she should stand but doubted the capability of her legs. The girl standing before her was alarmingly familiar. Although she knew the face mostly from photographs it would be hard to mistake one of her namesakes. One of her first encounters and already Lily was facing someone she knew from her own time. She tried very hard not to panic.

"Hello," Luna Lovegood said pleasantly. "You'll want to be careful of the wrackspurts." She pointed above Lily's head and Lily looked up but she did not see anything there.

"Wrackspurts?" She continued to examine the space above her head but it remained empty.

"Yes," the other girl answered without a trace of embarrassment. "They're invisible so you won't be able to see them, but they must be the reason you're here."

Lily's heart skipped a beat when Luna said this and for one rushed impossible moment she feared that Luna knew the truth about her. But Luna's blue eyes, wide and bright, were looking at her with only mild interest, as though her thoughts were somewhere else.

Lily hesitated. "The reason I'm here?"

"In the Entrance Hall," Luna replied, tilting her head slightly to side. "Instead of in the Great Hall eating breakfast. The wrackspurts have you so distracted you haven't even made it to your table yet. Don't worry, the effect isn't permanent."

Lily let out a shaky laugh and felt her muscles unclench in relief. Standing on mostly steady legs she looked more closely at the girl across from her and noted that her appearance was definitely… odd. Her uniform identified her as a Ravenclaw, a House Lily had always thought to have a tendency towards eccentricity, and her bottle cap necklace and radish earrings identified her as distinctly unusual. Her wand was tucked behind her ear and rather than the customary short, white socks she wore tall ones striped in blue and bronze.

She was every bit as whimsical as Lily remembered her to be from the brief visits Luna had made to the Potter household over the years. This was a comforting thought. With a smile Lily followed Luna into the Great Hall where they separated and went to their respective house tables. Lily ate very little and avoided all social interaction but as the meal came to a close she exchanged a brief wave with the blond over at the Ravenclaw table.

* * *

><p>Lily never did get around to eating much breakfast and she found it hard to focus throughout the morning. She paid little attention in her morning classes, sitting in the back and staring at her desk. The professors did not require her to contribute and the students seemed wary of her, which suited Lily just fine. She avoided looking at her mother at all costs.<p>

By the time lunch came around she was still not very hungry and she spent the first fifteen minutes seated by herself somewhere in the middle of the table pushing potatoes from side of her plate to the other. Her feet were scuffing back and forth on the stone floor and Lily imagined her grandmother's voice in her head. _Those are new shoes, Lily Potter! Don't go scuffing them up!_

This thought brought a brief but genuine smile to her face.

Thankfully there were enough vacant spots at the Gryffindor table that Lily was not forced to carry on a conversation with anyone. The weather was warm and sunny and she supposed other students were taking advantage and spending their break out on the grounds. Perhaps she would do the same later.

Not for the first time Lily wished she could skip out on her classes here and go spend the rest of the day in a secluded area by the lake. But when discussing the oddities of her sudden appearance with Dumbledore he had been quite adamant that she maintain a regular course schedule. She was to act as normally as possible. Lily had said that normal did not even begin to describe her situation. But, once again, Dumbledore had insisted that keeping herself occupied would be good for her and she could not very well argue with Albus Dumbledore, especially as he was the one man with any hope of returning her to her own time.

As she took a few bites of the food in front of her more students began filling the Great Hall, talking and laughing and sound grated on her while she herself was feeling so miserable. She stabbed viciously at a carrot on her plate and sauce splattered onto the table. Absorbed as she was, Lily did not immediately notice when someone took the seat next to her. She felt a tapping on her shoulder and startled, turning to look at the new arrival and she was instantly struck with an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

"Hello," Neville said, his smile faltering at her reaction.

"Hi," she responded automatically, her eyebrows lost somewhere in the vicinity of her fringe. Her fork slipped through her limp fingers and clattered onto her plate. Neville's smile disappeared entirely at that.

"I'm… Neville," he said slowly and at his troubled expression Lily finally realized she had been staring. She blinked and looked away but found that she could not stop glancing back every few seconds. How strange it was to know the boy sitting next to her but for him to have no idea who she was. And he looked so young.

_He is so young. __He's practically the same age as you._

Neville cleared his throat and looked down at his plate and Lily's brain finally caught up with the conversation.

"Oh, right," she blurted out. "I'm Lillian," she said, grimacing a little at the name. It felt strange on her tongue and she fought the urge to correct herself. It was close enough to her name but it still felt odd to introduce herself as someone else.

Neville smiled and Lily smiled back. "Nice to meet you," he said sincerely and Lily's breathing felt a little easier. A friendly face, even one that looked at her as though she were a stranger, was a welcome sight indeed.

The two of them chatted easily for the next few minutes and Lily even managed to get down some of her lunch without too much of a struggle. Neville refrained from asking anything too personal, about the supposed death of her parents or her supposed aunt and instead asked her things like what she thought of Hogwarts so far and wasn't the castle wonderful and which classes she was looking forward to. As they talked Lily could see more and more of the Neville she knew and she began to relax despite herself.

However all in one moment any sort of comfort Lily was feeling disappeared and she felt as though the food she had eaten had turned to metal in her stomach. Neville was saying something but Lily could not hear him. She could do nothing but stare at the small group of people who had just entered the hall.

Perhaps it was the shock of seeing them together but Lily felt tears prickle threateningly at the corners of her eyes and she blinked them away quickly. She could hear Neville's voice next to her but she could not tear her eyes away from her father's face, her mother's smile, the way they smiled at each other. Lily had never missed her parents more than she did at that moment, staring at them and unable to do anything. She was a stranger to them.

Harry and Ginny were laughing about something while Ron and Hermione seemed to be interacting in a cold, cordial sort of way. Lily easily recognized the telltale signs of a row. But the four of them sat together, talking and laughing and piling food onto their plates and Lily wanted to run over to them, to feel her father's comforting embrace and hear her mother's soothing voice.

Instead she sat unnaturally still and stared unabashedly at her teenage parents.

"Another one, are you?"

Finally, Neville's words reached her and Lily started. She turned towards, a small frown on her face and her thoughts still a few places down the table. "Another what," she asked, confused.

"Another _fan_," he replied with a small smirk. He nodded pointedly at Harry and Lily's gaze returned to her father's smiling face. "Never seen the famous Harry Potter?"

"Never like this," Lily replied faintly, unfazed by Neville's light teasing. He seemed unconcerned with her seemingly star-struck behavior.

"You'll have to get in line, I'm afraid," he said with a shrug and returned his attention to the meal in front of him. Lily did not reply to Neville's comment but his words did give her pause. What a strange idea, having to wait to see her father – her father who always had time for her, who would put off anything for her. _He's never made me wait before_, she thought and frowned.

Lily looked away and down at her own plate. She stared without seeing it for a moment before she pushed it away. Neville shot a worried look at her that she ignored and the two of them exchanged only idle chit chat for the rest of the meal. They did not talk about Harry again and Lily did not look back to where he had been sitting until he was gone.

* * *

><p><em>"…the time turner three cycles in order to achieve a temporal distance of two hours and fifty seven minutes due to…"<em>

Thud.

Lily let her head fall onto the open book in front of her, her nose pressed in towards the spine, the distinct scent of aged parchment filling her nostrils. She let out a tortured sigh – a combination of frustration and boredom – and slowly lifted her head back up. It was not yet time for supper and the prospect of socializing in the dormitory or common room made her stomach churn so she had holed up in the library for the past hour. The idea had been to get something useful done but her general impatience with anything resembling schoolwork could not be overcome even in the face of time travel. She had spent the last ten minutes reading the same sentence and it made about as much sense to her as Gobbledegook.

Time travel was surprisingly dull in theory.

As she turned yet again to the vast tome before her Lily's stomach let out a rumbling growl and she realized that she was hungry. It seemed her stomach, and practically skipping two meals that day already, was finally catching up with her. Glad to have an excuse to take a break from her research Lily stood, gathered books from her table and hurriedly shoved them onto shelves without taking much care to ensure they were returned to the proper place. She walked briskly from the library, her bag slung over her shoulder, and avoided the librarian's keen stare on her way out the door.

The corridors were neither brimming with students nor entirely vacant and Lily made her way through the halls with ease. Despite being stranded over two decades in the past the layout of the castle was largely the same. Lily was taking any small comforts she could find.

Hitching her bag more securely on her shoulder and brushing her hair out of her face with the other Lily turned into a decidedly deserted corridor when a splitting shriek cut through the air.

"MURDER! MURDER IN THE BATHROOM! MURDER!"

Lily froze and her bag fell to the floor with a thud that she did not register. The shouts were echoing within the stone walls. A moment later Lily was running, her wand in hand and her heart in her throat.

She reached the end of the hall and slid to an abrupt halt, gripping the wall and peering around the corner. The door to the boy's lavatory was open and Lily could hear a distraught female voice coming from inside, a voice she thought she recognized as Moaning Myrtle.

Gripping her wand firmly in hand Lily took a few quick steps towards the bathroom but stopped almost immediately when a man appeared in the doorway supporting the body of a boy with stark blond hair and red all down his front. He was covered in blood, presumably his own, and Lily's stomach lurched.

_Murder…_

But the blond student was almost standing, swaying really, and he was, at least for the moment, alive.

The grim looking professor – for he had to be a professor – started down the corridor towards Lily and the boy groaned in pain at the movement. Lily leaned against the wall, her legs suddenly weak with relief. She did not know who the student was or what had happened but the thought of someone in the school being murdered was unbearable. She watched as the lopsided pair moved as quickly as possible towards her and she took an unconscious step towards them.

The professor, clad in sweeping black robes, snarled, "Get out of the way," and Lily hurriedly complied, leaping back against the wall. He barely spared her a glance but in that moment something like recognition crossed his pasty features and Lily shuddered. His eyes, black and cold and framed by curtains of shiny black hair gazed at her questioningly and he almost stopped entirely.

"What are you doing," Lily asked hysterically, her gaze falling to the boy's bloodstained shirt. "He needs to get to the Hospital Wing!"

It was a few minutes before the footsteps died away. Lily knew she should leave – something horrible had happened here and she did not want any part of it. She could be in very serious trouble for poking her nose in where it did not belong, but her curiosity was too strong. She wondered if the grim looking professor would return after the blond boy had been seen to by Madame Pomfrey. Was there someone still in the bathroom – someone who had caused all that blood?

After a few minutes of silent, internal struggle, Lily ducked behind a particularly large suit of armor and waited, keen to find out more but not wanting to be seen. She had a clear view of the bathroom door but felt certain that as long as no one was looking for her, she would remain unnoticed. Just as she settled into her hiding place the black-clad professor returned, his sweeping walk causing his robes to billow out behind him impressively. He walked briskly into the bathroom without stopping and Lily caught the briefest glimpse of the scene within. There was water and blood all over the floor.

The door did not close all the way and Lily leaned forward slightly, straining to hear the conversation going on inside.

"…didn't mean it to happen. I didn't know what that spell did."

That voice. Lily knew that voice. She leaned a little closer.

"Apparently I underestimated you, Potter. Who would have thought you knew such Dark Magic? Who taught you that spell?"

_No._

She had not heard correctly. She could not have heard correctly. _Potter? Dark Magic?_

Lily slumped back against the wall, a strange buzzing in her ears drowning out whatever else was being said in the bathroom. She felt as though someone had punched her in the gut. She had misunderstood. This could not be what it looked like.

Surely,_ surely_, a student would be expelled for something like this? But her father had never been expelled from Hogwarts. So there had to be more to it, something she was missing, something that absolved him of any guilt. But Lily could not bring herself to return to the conversation between her father and that ominous professor. What she really wanted was to leave, to get away from there and pretend that this had never happened. But when she finally gathered her wits together and stepped out from behind the armor the bathroom door banged open and suddenly there was a boy in front of her with untidy black hair and glasses and bright green eyes. He was dripping wet and covered in blood, most of which Lily suspected was not his own.

Lily froze and so did Harry and suddenly Lily's lips felt numb and her chest constricted.

_Dad._

Harry shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. He opened his mouth as if to say something, glanced back at the bathroom door and then shook his head. He sprinted off down the corridor without looking back leaving a still stunned Lily in his wake. She watched him go. There were bloodstains on his trainers.

The one thing Lily knew in that moment was that she did not want to be here when her father returned. She glanced once in the direction Harry had gone and then started walking shakily the opposite way. She turned the corner and saw her discarded bag still on the floor. She swung it over her shoulder. She had been on her way to dinner but it seemed impossible to eat now. Confused thoughts and frightening images darted about in her mind and Lily felt dizzy and light-headed and slightly nauseous.

Although she thought it would be impossible to eat anything Lily could think of no better option than to head to the Great Hall as she had originally planned. She was still adamant about avoiding the dormitory as long as possible and, for reasons she did not want to focus on, she could count on Harry being absent from the meal - a small comfort. So she walked there, half in a daze, running her hand distractedly through her mussed hair every few minutes until she arrived at her destination. She stood outside the large doorway looking in, hesitating. It was breakfast all over again.

The different conversations, the jokes, the arguments, they all blurred together to form one chaotic noise. She could see Neville sitting with a few boys who must have been in the same year halfway down the hall. And she saw Luna at the Ravenclaw table taking a large portion of pudding. And Lily stood there feeling the full weight of her situation pulling down on her shoulders. Her first day had been an unqualified disaster and there was nothing to suggest it would get any easier.

Before Lily could bring herself to step into the Great Hall there was a sudden cry from the Slytherin table that made her jump. She looked over to see a girl with short dark hair jump to her feet, an anguished expression on her face.

"What do you mean, _hurt_? Draco's been hurt?"

And with that the girl hurried from her seat, her thin hair flying about her head, a frightened determination on her pug-like face. When she reached the doorway where Lily still standing, frozen with indecision and now surprise, the two girls made eye contact for just a moment. Lily felt a chill and wondered if this too was someone she knew from her own time. A moment later their shoulders bumped painfully together as the brunette pushed her way past Lily.

Heaving a great sigh and rubbing her shoulder grudgingly Lily finally stepped into the hall and made her way over to the Gryffindor table. She sat alone and piled food onto her plate that she would not be eating and tried to ignore the growing ache at the back of her head.

* * *

><p><strong>AN. Chapter three! One of my least favorite actually, but I did the best I could with it.<strong>


	4. At a Loss

**World Enough and Time – Chapter Four**

**At a Loss**

_Swish and flick. Swish and flick._

The heavy book in front of Lily rose and fell with the waving of her wand as she idly gazed around the Hogwarts library. Once again, Lily had ventured into the stacks in hopes of finding any information on time travel that could help her. She knew that Dumbledore was working on sending her home but it did not seem right to simply sit around and let him do all the work. Not that her efforts had proven very fruitful. In fact, so far she had come up with absolutely _nothing_. That was, unless you counted that section in _Catastrophic Miscalculations_ about the wizard who had ended up, through a long series of mishaps, becoming his own grandfather. It said very little about how he actually managed his disastrous time traveling and so the whole thing, while disturbingly interesting, was worthless to Lily.

It had been almost a week since she had woken up in the Hospital Wing in nineteen ninety seven and every day since then Lily had come to the library. But even with a solid week's worth of effort she had nothing to show for it. For some reason though, she kept coming back. Resting her head in the palm of her hand and still lazily waving her wand Lily smiled around at the familiar shelves of books. The library had become, if nothing else, a sanctuary for her, an escape from the sidelong glances and murmured rumors that followed her through the corridors. And it was an escape from the achingly familiar faces that still managed to shock her.

Lily was even less focused than usual today and she knew that trying to do any more work would be near impossible. So instead of returning to the stubbornly unhelpful books piled around her Lily took to observing the other students who had decided their Sunday afternoon was better spent studying for upcoming exams than out in the gorgeous sunshine. There were a few older Ravenclaws a couple of tables over who were huddled together over a large Arithmancy volume. They were speaking in hushed tones, occasionally pointing and gesturing and scribbling notes. There were Hufflepuffs huddled in groups here and there and a random Slytherin browsing the shelves. A group of fifth year Gryffindor boys – Lily recognized them now from her classes – were at a table in front of her chatting quietly but enthusiastically about Quidditch.

_Swish and flick. Swish and flick._

Her book continued to hover as Lily casually eavesdropped on those within hearing distance. The Gryffindor boys were recounting, play by play, the final Quidditch match of the season. It had been the day before. Lily had not been to the match but had taken advantage of the nearly empty castle to wander the corridors in peace. But from what Lily had heard, Gryffindor had come out on top despite the fact that their star captain, and Seeker to boot, had been in detention and, once again, had been unable to play in the final.

But Lily did not want to think about that.

Harry's face flashed into her mind, his wet clothes, his red-stained trainers. She had started thinking of him as _Harry. _It was easier.

Harry had not been playing because he had been in detention for cursing Draco Malfoy so badly… _all that blood_. Lily grimaced and shook her head to get rid of the image of Severus Snape supporting the bleeding Malfoy boy down the hall.

Although Lily had heard from her father about Severus Snape she had never seen his picture and his portrait in the Headmistress's office was frequently vacant. She had been shocked to learn, in her first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, that that thoroughly unpleasant man was someone her father respected. Not only was he something of an enigma, but he was downright rude and frequently sneered at his students.

_What was Dad thinking with that one_, Lily thought, _Albus Severus…_

Lily had taken to sitting in the back of all of her classes, more to avoid Ginny than anything else. She had started thinking of her as _Ginny. _She had been referring to her parents by their first names in her mind – she had not spoken to either of them – both in hopes of distancing herself and avoiding any embarrassing slip-ups. She never volunteered or answered any of the professors' questions and it seemed that her persistent silence was taken by most as the manifestation of her grief over losing her family.

The only professor who continued to give her odd looks was Snape. He had done so ever since encountering her in the hallway after what Lily quietly referred to as _The Bathroom Incident_. Because of this she was particularly subdued in Defense class and she was always the first to leave when they were dismissed, practically running from the room. It did not occur to Lily that such behavior would only further raise his suspicions that there was something odd about Lilian McGonagall.

_Swish and flick._

Another afternoon wasted.

Sunshine was slowly creeping across her table and Lily watched it before deciding that perhaps she would find a nice place to sit along the lake when a familiar figure emerged from among the many shelves in front of her. At the sight of Hermione Granger Lily just had time to register the disgruntled expression on the girl's face before her focus snapped and the book she had been levitating fell with a loud crash onto the table.

The students seated at neighboring tables shot her dark looks, glaring or rolling their eyes. Lily decided it was indeed time to go and began gathering her things. The dreaded Madame Pince could appear at any moment, ready with a telling off for disturbing the quiet. Before she had pulled everything together there was a loud shriek.

"That's it!"

Damn, Lily thought, apologies half-forming on the tip of her tongue but when she looked up it was not Madame Pince standing before her but Hermione. Lily froze and watched as Hermione grabbed one of the heavy volumes from the table, a delighted look on her face. She smiled at Lily excitedly.

"This is the book I've been looking for," she said to Lily, who could only stare back, her mouth slightly open. Her eyes darted around the library as if looking for the fastest exit. "I've been looking for ages and I thought someone must have checked it out. Are you finished with it? Would you mind if I had it?"

She said all this very quickly. Lily tried to shake past her shock. _Question_, part of her brain registered. _Answer!_

"Er…," she started. Lily really wished that people from her present would stop surprising her like this. She shook her head, trying to clear it, and focused on the book Hermione was holding up. It was a collection of old issues of the Daily Prophet, which had proved of no help at all to her.

"I don't need it," she managed and tried to smile but it came off as more of a grimace.

There was an awkward moment during which both girls merely stood there, the old scratched and stained library table between them. Hermione did not leave right away but rather she stared at Lily with a small frown as though seeing a particularly challenging puzzle for the first time. Lily hoped that Hermione would not try to make further conversation. She avoided the other girl's eyes and resumed gathering her things, stuffing books and parchment haphazardly into her bag.

She glanced up to see Hermione still watching her, staring at her robes in fact, her head tilted slightly to the side.

"Is there something wrong with my robes," Lily asked bruskly, not minding if she sounded rude because, honestly, she wanted Hermione to leave. However the other girl did not seem to notice.

"What?" She seemed to snap out of a trance. "Oh, no. I was just – I thought I knew everyone in Gryffindor."

"I'm sort of… new."

Hermione's face lit up with instant recognition. "Oh of course, you're Professor McGonagall's niece. I can't believe I'd forgotten!"

That still sounded entirely strange to Lily. Minerva McGonagall was her Headmistress not her aunt. She had not anticipated how uncomfortable it would feel to claim a close relation to the woman. True, McGonagall had been a family friend for as long as Lily could remember but she had always been, without a doubt, a figure of strict authority. Lily voiced none of this but nodded instead.

Hermione was smiling now in a friendly sort of way and Lily fought the urge to groan. She did not want to be talking about her fake aunt with her real aunt, who was, at the moment a teenager now not much older than Lily herself. It was too uncomfortable. It made her stomach flutter and face flush. It was giving her a headache.

"That must be why you look so familiar," Hermione said, oblivious to Lily's discomfort. "It's almost as though I've seen you before. But…," Hermione studied Lily's face more carefully, "you don't look much like your aunt."

_Of course I don't, I look more like your best friends._ But she only shrugged. She wished Hermione would leave. She wished there were more room in her bag. It was full to the brim but some of her books were still strewn on the table and Hermione picked one of them up. "Are you going back to the common room? I could help you carry all of this if you'd like."

The thought of more forced conversation made her stomach churn, but she could not think of any polite way to decline the offer.

"Sure," she said and picked up one of the books herself. Between the two of them they gathered all of Lily's remaining belongings and made their way out of the library. Hermione chatted about the castle as they walked and Lily missed all of her curious glances. She simply stared straight ahead, counting the steps back to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

><p>"I don't understand."<p>

James Sirius Potter rolled his eyes and turned to face his brother. "Lily's disappeared, Al. What about that is too difficult to grasp?"

His harsh tone as he so bluntly stated Lily's absence made everyone else in the room flinch, including Albus. He was not mad at James, just as he knew James was not truly upset with him, but they had both been venting their frustrations on each other for the past hour. He, James, and their parents had been sitting together in relative silence, waiting, sitting, doing very little.

"I know that," Al snarled back, unable to help himself. "What I don't understand is why we're all just sitting here, not doing anything about it!"

James's face reddened and he glared at his brother. "Well, do you have any ideas, genius? Any brilliant theories on how to bring Lily back? Because we'd love to hear them, really we would."

"James, that's enough," their mother cut in. Her tone was threatening and her face was strained. Al could not help but notice the tear stains on her cheeks. He felt some of his anger disappear but it came back full force when he turned back to see James glaring at him, a challenge written all over his face.

"Right," he said when Al remained silent. "Well, when you come up with something be sure to share with the rest of the class, won't you?"

Albus was suddenly on his feet and James quickly followed suit. They were nearly the same height now and that fact made Al feel stronger. He wanted to vent his anger on the only outlet he had at the moment. It had been years since he and James had fought like this but part of him was just itching for his brother to throw the first punch. But before either of them could do anything their father was standing between them, an arm stretched out to each and a look on his face that made both Albus and James step away.

"That's enough," he said, his voice quiet and frightening. James returned to his seat. Albus did the same a second later. He avoided looking at his brother and instead watched as his father returned to the couch where he put an arm around his wife.

Everyone's temper had been short for the past two days and while Harry Potter had kept his head better than anyone else in the family the strain was beginning to show. Al suspected that neither of his parents had been sleeping much. Both constantly had dark circles under their eyes and the night before when Albus woke up in the middle of the night he could hear quiet voices coming from their room.

He had returned home with his parents after first receiving the news of Lily's disappearance but since coming back to the house Albus wished he had stayed at Hogwarts. There was nothing here to distract him from the horrible situation they had all ended up in. There were instead constant reminders of Lily - her bedroom, untouched since the winter holidays, her empty seat at the dining table.

James had also been home since hearing the news. He worked at the Ministry in the Experimental Charms Department but had taken a short leave, packed up some things from his flat, and settled back into his old room. Albus glanced over at his brother to see his head bowed and his shoulders slumped. He did not want to think of anyone giving up on Lily, least of all James, and it was this more than anything that made Al want to punch him.

James could not give up. He would not, not really, Albus knew this. But in the long silences it was easy to let his thoughts wander to dark and dangerous places.

Teddy was late. Teddy was always late, but he was especially so today. Teddy did not know about Lily's disappearance but they would be telling him today. He had been out of the country for work and Al's father had not wanted to send an owl. Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron knew, but other than that the family was so far unaware and Albus dreaded telling them. It was hard enough dealing with his parents and James – he did not want to imagine all of his various aunts and uncles and cousins converging on the family to share in the despair. Albus was determined that this situation would not turn into _grieving_, for that would be giving up and he refused to abandon his sister that way.

For what felt like the hundredth time Albus looked up at the clock seated on the mantel and found that only seven minutes had passed since he had last looked. He sighed in frustration. Out of the corner of his eye he saw James roll his eyes. Albus would have retorted but for the angry look their father shot at both of them. A warning that they both understood.

Any time now Teddy would arrive and Albus held out hope that when he did perhaps something would get done. But for now, they waited, seemingly endlessly.

Al gripped the arms of the large chair he occupied, scrunching up the fabric beneath his fingers. He changed another glance at James and saw that now his brother's expression was sad as he stared back. Albus knew that in that moment they were thinking exactly the same thing.

_I wish Lily were here._

* * *

><p>Although Lily still avoided the dormitory as often as possible she found herself there now, stretched out on her back on her bed, her eyes staring blankly at the red canopy above her. The window was open and a pleasant spring breeze was wafting into the tower. It moved her hair gently and Lily kept brushing it from her face to keep it from tickling her forehead and cheeks. She had been in this state since returning to Gryffindor Tower with Hermione. She practically fled to the dormitory after having made some sort of excuse and made a bee line for her bed.<p>

She had had a good few hours of solitude and quiet now and this was the most relaxed Lily had felt the entire week. It was not a peaceful feeling exactly, but it was at least a departure from the near-crippling discomfort that characterized most of her waking moments. At least when she was alone she could pretend that none of this was happening, that she was back home in her own bed, waking from a terrible dream.

The sky outside was darkening but Lily remained unmoving on the bed. Her feet dangled over the edge, her shoes long since kicked off and her robe tossed somewhere on the floor. As the sun continued sinking the light in the room turned rosier and tinted her hair an even more vibrant shade of red. Lily was just thinking that she might drift off to sleep when she heard voices, two of them, growing louder as the girls they belonged to climbed the stairs.

_Please be going somewhere else,_ Lily thought desperately, her eyes shut and her brow furrowed. _Please._

However the next moment Lily identified the voices as belonging to Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger and she groaned, sure that any moment now that door would swing open and the reality of nineteen ninety seven would crash back down around her. She had so far avoided any direct contact with her teenage mother, not an easy accomplishment in such close quarters, and she was not eager to change that. But all too soon Ginny and Hermione were right outside the door. Lily rolled over onto her stomach, grabbed a random book from the nightstand, and flipped it open. She stared at the pages without reading them, trying to look as busy and inaccessible as possible. The door opened.

"I keep telling you, Hermione, we just went for a walk around the lake." Lily could easily picture the smirk on Ginny's face. She did not look up.

"Just a walk," Hermione repeated and Lily could hear the teasing disbelief dripping from the older girl's voice. "Ginny, you were gone for hours yesterday and you haven't stopped smiling since then. And, neither has Harry."

Ginny giggled. Lily was not accustomed to hearing her mother giggle like a teenage girl. But then, right now, she _was_ a teenage girl. A teenage girl who had a new boyfriend from what Lily had heard, but she did not want to think too much about her parents sharing a kiss in the Common Room or _dating_ or doing any sort of teenage activities. Lily winced and glanced at the two girls from the corner of her eye. Hermione seemed to be fighting a smile while Ginny was making no such effort. She was clearly elated.

"I'll never tell," Ginny said airily and spun to sit on her bed. Lily tried to look away before either girl saw her watching them but she was too late. In turning to sit on the bed Ginny was now facing Lily and smiling. "Oh, hello, Lillian."

Lily looked up entirely from the book she was so diligently not reading and tried to look as though she had only just noticed the other girls' arrival. Hermione took a seat at Ginny's desk and Ginny remained on the side of her bed, her feet swinging. Ginny grinned sheepishly. "We haven't really met, have we?"

Lily had made sure of that. But she forced a smile onto her face. "I suppose not," she said, sitting up.

"Have you met Hermione?"

"Yes, we met earlier today in the library."

Ginny giggled again. She seemed extraordinarily cheerful. "Of course, her natural habitat," she quipped, grinning at the bushy-haired brunette. "Hermione rarely ventures elsewhere."

Hermione spun to face Ginny, her cheeks pink. "I'll have you know I spent the entire afternoon with Ron," she protested and Ginny laughed, raising her eyebrows.

"So we know you weren't in the library then. Ron avoids it like the plague."

Lily watched the two of them interact and had to actually fight a smile from creeping too widely across her face. Their banter was familiar and it both comforted and saddened her. Each day she was more homesick than the next and it was moments like this, moments with particular reminders of her present, that made it even harder. Hermione and Ginny continued to chat and giggle and Lily made no effort to reinsert herself in the conversation. Instead she turned back to her book and pretended to read while she listened to their voices and pretended she was home.

* * *

><p>When Teddy Lupin entered the room he had a crooked grin on his face and vibrant green hair. He had a traveling bag slung over his shoulder and his skin had a slightly brownish tint as if he had recently spent a lot of time in the sun. Which, Al realized, he probably had. Curse-breakers usually did. He looked happy and healthy but when saw the faces of everyone else in the room the smile slid from his face.<p>

"What's happened?"

Al grimaced, Teddy's worried expression causing a lump to form in his throat. He doubted whether any words would have come even if he wanted them to. He wanted to look away from Teddy's face but found it nearly impossible to do so. Looking at the rest of the family would have been worse – theirs were not expressions of worry or concern but of despair.

"Harry, what's going on?"

Albus dragged his gaze over to his father and saw the pained, hardened expression there that had been ever-present since he had first heard the news about his daughter. His dad stood and walked over to his godson. Teddy was slightly taller.

"We didn't want to tell you in a letter," he started as Albus, James, and their mother watched the exchange. "It's-"

But he faltered and Al winced as his father's expression crumble just for a moment.

"It's Lily," he heard himself say because he was not sure he could bear to hear his father say it.

Teddy's bag fell to the floor with a thud. His attention, along with everyone else's in the room, was now focused on Albus and he wished he had not spoken.

"What about her," Teddy asked frantically, gazing around the room as if he thought Lily was hiding somewhere. "Is she here? Is she all right?"

Albus opened his mouth to answer but no words came out. He closed it again and his teeth clicked.

_"Is she all right?"_

"We don't know," James answered and his voice, in contrast to his brother's and fathers, was quiet, calm.

Teddy's hair wilted to its natural, soggy brown color and he paled considerably. "What does that mean? Where is Lily?"

"She's gone," Albus croaked out and he found himself on his feet. "She's disappeared – lost somewhere in time and we don't know when. She's gone and we don't know how to bring her back and _no one is doing anything about it._"

Only after he fell silent again did Al realize he had been shouting. Everyone was staring at him, pale and surprised and a moment later his mother stood and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He leaned into her embrace without thinking about it and felt warm tears soak through the material of his shirt. His mother crying troubled him far more than any of the tense silences or shouting had done. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Harry, what's he talking about? Lost in time, _what the hell_—"

"She disappeared and all they found was a broken time turner and the Marauder's Map," his dad answered, his hands shoved into his pockets. "We _are_ working on it," he continued shooting Albus a warning glance, "but it's hard to know where to start. We don't have a lot to go on. But we are going to bring her back, Albus, I_ promise_."

Albus felt some of his anger melt away at his father's calming words. There was desperation in his voice but also conviction. His mother tightened her arms around him and then let go. When she stepped away there was hardly any evidence that she had been crying at all except the dark splotch of Al's shoulder. He stared around at his family, his parents dishelved but determined, his brother quiet and serious, and Teddy, bewildered and clearly struggling with the strange and horrible news. He did not know why in this troubling moment he should so suddenly feel confident that something was going to get done, but he did.

He looked around at his family and while Lily's absence stung like salt in a wound it also bolstered his drive to do something to find her.

"We'll find her," he whispered. "We have to."

* * *

><p><strong>AN. More plot next chapter. :)<strong>


	5. Meet the Press

**World Enough and Time – Chapter Five**

**Meet the Press**

"Is it true, Ginny?"

"Is _what_ true, Romilda?"

"You _know_… is it true that Harry has a hippogriff tattooed across his chest?"

Lily choked on her cereal and bent over her bowl, coughing. _A hippogriff?_ Who _was_ this girl?

Thankfully, her rather loud display went unnoticed by the girls she was eavesdropping on. Lily was only a few seats down from them at the Gryffindor Table, which was still rather empty as it was early. Romilda, who Lily thought she had seen hanging around the Common Room (staring at Harry), had been pestering Ginny with questions about her newly acquired boyfriend for the last quarter of an hour and it seemed the subject had taken a rather ridiculous turn.

Chancing a look over at the two girls Lily saw that Ginny was doing a much better job of hiding her mirth than she was her own. Although, Lily noticed, Ginny's nose was twitching – something that was a giveaway that she was trying not to laugh.

"_Well? _Is it true? Or, _don't you know?_"

Lily continued to watch out of the corner of her eye and saw Ginny's eyebrows raise, her expression still one of vague disinterest. "No, Romilda, Harry does not have a _hippogriff_ tattooed across his chest," she scoffed. "Don't be stupid."

Romilda's face went rapidly from interest to disappointment to a challenging sneer. Ginny seemed oblivious to this however, as she turned her attention back to her breakfast.

"And you're _sure?_ Because I heard from Anastasia who knows Katie Bell's sister who said that Katie told _her_—"

Ginny looked up from her toast and cut Romilda off. "Whatever you've heard is a load of rubbish. Harry does _not_ have a hippogriff tattooed across his chest." She smirked. "And I _know_ this because it's actually a Hungarian Horntail. Much more macho, don't you think?"

Without waiting for a reply Ginny stood from her seat and flipped her long hair over her shoulder as she left the Great Hall leaving a crestfallen and jealous Romilda Vane in her wake. Lily meanwhile was in quiet hysterics again and trying to hide her wide grin in her goblet of pumpkin juice.

This was not the first conversation that Lily had shamelessly listened in on lately. In fact, she was making it something of a habit. She was particularly keen on observing her teenage parents who, since becoming a couple, seemed cheerfully oblivious to anything going on around them. Not that anyone was paying much attention to Lily anyway these days - it was easy to listen in. While her arrival had initially been a subject of mild interest her presence was now accepted as normal. She was still the quiet, recently-orphaned girl who kept to herself and preferred it that way and Lily was not going to any lengths to amend this notion.

Every once in a while she would find herself in brief conversation with someone she recognized, someone she _knew_, and it was these moments that woke Lily from her pleasant dreams of home and put her right back in the nightmare of the past few weeks. When she made eye contact with Harry or Ginny or anyone else she knew there was no recognition in their faces and she had found that to be surprisingly painful. Harry did not hug her. Ginny did not kiss her on the cheek. Any time she had any actual interaction with either of them (rare as it was) she felt horribly out of place.

Most of her time was still spent in the library, although any enthusiasm for her research had long since dwindled to nothing. There was no quick fix to her problem and the more time that she spent there skimming passage after passage the more Lily thought that it may never get fixed at all. Time seemed to be creeping by these days, as if refusing to return her to where she belonged.

Lily glanced down at her watch before remembering that it was still acting strangely. No matter what she tried, her watch continued to tick away in the wrong direction, a fact which made it increasingly difficult for her to get to class on time. But despite this, Lily continued to wear the watch and care for it as it was now one of the few things she had from home and therefore all the more precious.

The Great Hall was filled with students now, many of them rushing to get a bite to eat before class but Lily was done eating and so she grabbed her bag and stood to leave. She walked leisurely towards the Entrance Hall, then up the marble staircase, then towards the steps that would take her to the Charms corridor, thinking the whole way about hippogriffs and Hungarian Horntails and smiling.

Gryffindors had Charms with the Ravenclaws, which Lily generally enjoyed. If nothing else, the larger than usual class made it easier to pass the time unnoticed. She usually chose a table in the back among various Ravenclaws that she did not really talk to and who, in return, did not talk to her. And so she was understandably surprised when someone took the seat next to her with a cheerful greeting.

"Hello, Lillian."

Lily paused in pulling her wand out of her bag and looked up to see Luna sitting down, a smile on face and her gaze directed toward one of the large windows on the far side of the room.

"Hello," she said and smiled easily in return. Lily had spoken with Luna on a number of occasions by now and found her company some of the easiest to tolerate both because she was not particularly close with the Luna from her own time and because the other girl's demeanor was as odd as Lily felt when conversing with anyone from this time.

"I normally sit over there by the window," Luna pointed across the room, "but there's a group of nargles hiding in the curtains. I didn't think you would mind if we shared."

Lily passed over the mention of nargles and said, "Of course I don't mind." Luna smiled and stowed her wand behind her ear before turning to watch Professor Flitwick. The tiny professor was taking roll while a boy from Ravenclaw handed out thick, heavy textbooks. Lily glanced at the one in front of her with a dubious expression on her face. Their assignment, as detailed by Flitwick, was to charm wings onto their book and coax it into flying.

When Professor Flitwick was near the end of the roll and called, "Ginny Weasley," Lily glanced casually in Ginny's direction. She was distracted, giggling with a group of her friends. One of them nudged her and she chirped out, "Here," before turning immediately back to the girls she was chatting with.

The classroom was filled with chattering students as they all set to work on the spell. Lily was pleasantly surprised when, on only her third try, her book sprouted white, feathery wings and lifted itself off the table. She smiled as she watched the book do a few little circles in the air. Luna was watching her own book, now adorned with scaly, purple wings, hover up near the ceiling.

A moment later Lily's concentration was broken by a commotion at the front of the room and her book's wings vanished. The heavy tome fell back to the table with at loud bang that went entirely unnoticed in the room. Professor Flitwick had just leapt from behind his podium, barely dodging a lopsided, one-winged book that zoomed past him and collided with the window. There was silence for a few seconds before the professor emerged again, tousled and flustered. The rogue book lay twitching on the floor. A few people laughed.

"Miss Weasley!"

Lily's head jerked towards the object of Professor Flitwick's reprimand and saw Ginny, her wand still held in the air, a slightly guilty expression on her face but her lips tugging into a smile. Her friends were giggling again but as Flitwick made his way over their table Ginny's smile fell.

"Sorry, Professor."

"Perhaps you would be able to concentrate better, Miss Weasley, at a... _different_ table."

Ginny did not argue but gathered her things and got up to follow as Professor Flitwick led her away from her friends. Lily continued to watch as Ginny made a face over her shoulder and the group of girls behind her started giggling again. Lily realized too late that Flitwick was leading Ginny over to where she and Luna were sitting and hastily returned her attention back to her book as Ginny sat down. Luna smiled serenely, gazing between the two red heads.

"Hey, Luna. Lillian."

Lily half-heartedly returned the greeting and noted that there was no sign of embarrassment in Ginny's voice. She did not seem to mind that she had disrupted the class, which was once again filling with the sounds of practiced incantations and general chatter.

Although she had successfully completed the spell just a few moments earlier Lily now found it hard to concentrate between Ginny's presence and Luna's long stares at the two of them. She hoped that the Ravenclaw would not notice that she and Ginny had precisely the same shade of red hair.

With a sigh she rested her chin in her hand and waved her wand at her text book with much less enthusiasm than before. Ginny noted her dour expression.

"I agree," her teenage mother said in response to her sigh, "Class has been dreadfully _dull_ today, hasn't it?"

Lily did not have to look up to know that Ginny was smirking but she did anyway. She could think of nothing to say in response. Luna did not have the same problem.

"I think it's rather fun. I'm quite fond of my book." And indeed it seemed that Luna's still-flying book was quite fond of her as well. It was hovering contentedly by the blond's right ear while she petted it absentmindedly.

Ginny caught Lily's eye and started laughing and Lily could not keep a smile from her own face. As the class continued Lily found Ginny's perpetual good mood to be unavoidably contagious and twenty minutes later she found she was actually enjoying herself, talking and laughing with the other two girls as if nothing was wrong.

But of course, something was wrong. _Everything _was wrong. But maybe it was getting easier to ignore.

By the end of the class Lily had managed to successfully complete the spell three times and Luna was helping Ginny coax her own book into flying. It's large butterfly wings were bright and colorful but it remained stubbornly on the table.

"I just don't seem to have much luck with this one," Ginny said with a shrug as Luna murmured quietly to the text book. She looked up, her blue eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Don't worry," Luna said, entirely straight-faced, "I'm sure Harry would be happy to help you practice it later."

At this Lily actually saw her mother blush. It was not often that that happened. And Lily was once again reminded _why_ Ginny was in such a constant good mood lately. It was strange to think of her parents starting to _date_. It was even stranger to think of them ever _not_ being together. Even though she was forever hearing stories about her father's Hogwarts days, of his various exploits with Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione, in Lily's mind Harry and Ginny Potter were inseparable, even through time.

Apparently, she was _not_.

She had drifted away from them, from her brothers, from her cousins, from her friends, and it had happened so easily, almost as if nothing were keeping her there. Lily felt a lump form in her throat and there was a tingling behind her eyes.

Her brief moment of contentment had been shattered as soon as it had come and for the last few minutes of the lesson Lily did not speak at all but stared at the table in front of her, tracing her fingers around the aged stains of ink and cracks of spellwork gone awry. If Luna or Ginny noticed the sudden change they did not say anything but continued to talk and laugh with each other. When Professor Flitwick released them Lily practically ran for the door, not caring who she bumped into or who saw the tears in her eyes.

* * *

><p>Albus was missing his sister terribly.<p>

However right at that moment he was finding it hard to concentrate on anything but the commotion around him. He was too distracted by all the noise, the shouting, the scraping of chairs, the tears. It was always an affair at the Burrow - there never seemed to be enough room to contain all the energy of so many people. Today it was especially so because in addition to the large crowd there was a heavy sorrow and the beginnings of panic filling the space.

Al was the only occupant still in his seat and he was going largely unnoticed by the rest of the kitchen's occupants. The Weasley household was filled to the brim with family members – Al's aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, brother, grandparents, Teddy. It seemed _everyone _was there. _Everyone but Lily._

In all the confusion Albus took the opportunity to slip outside into the garden.

Just over half an hour ago he and his immediate family had arrived at the Burrow to find the rest of the family gathering as well. His mother had rounded them up, making floo calls and sending owls and when everyone was finally present his father had, to the best of his ability, shared the news of Lily's disappearance. The idea was that with more people working on the problem the faster the could solve it – such a diverse range of expertise and experience could surely come together to solve this one very complicated issue. His dad did not want Lily's absence to become public knowledge but with nothing to go on and nowhere else to turn he had confided in those closest to him – the Weasleys.

Al shoved his hands in his pockets and walked over to the crooked fence that lined the back garden. Swinging one leg over he hopped up and sat along one of the sturdy wooden posts, his head down and his shoulders slumped. He could still hear a general clamor of voices behind him but it was all mixed together now – just a noise – and his thoughts settled back to Lily and how (he would not think _if_) they could get her back.

"_ENOUGH!"_

Al jumped at the sudden shout from the kitchen. Turning to look over his shoulder he saw his dad standing, his hands in the air, and everyone else staring at him. He started to talk and even though Albus could not hear him he did not look away. The expression on his father's face was both furious and captivating and he felt transfixed in spite of himself.

He could see his grandmother crying. She was leaning into her husband's shoulder, her body shaking with tears. Aunt Hermione looked suspiciously close to tears as well but she remained perfectly upright, listening intently. She and Uncle Ron had already heard the news of course, and he was sure that she had been steadily working since then. Uncle Ron, next to her, had his arm around her shoulders and his face was stoic, his jaw clenched.

Al turned away, glad that he was not still in the kitchen to hear their discussion. He stared out at the tree line in the distance, the large stump sticking up in the field, the worn path and led down to the creek. Memories of he and Lily and James playing out here in the summers seemed to play out before him like a Muggle film. They used to play on the huge stump to see who could stay on the longest while trying to push the others off. Lily had broken her arm once. He remembered how _terrified_ he and James had been to tell their parents and how Lily had hardly cried at all.

So consumed in his memories as he was, Albus did not hear the kitchen door open nor did he hear the footsteps of someone approaching him. He jumped when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder and spun to see his Uncle Charlie standing behind him.

With very little effort for someone in his late forties Charlie swung himself up onto the fence beside Albus and it creaked under their combined weights. They were silent for a few moments before Charlie spoke.

"I bet you've heard a lot of stories from your parents' days at Hogwarts, haven't you?"

Al nodded, looking down at the ground under him. He did not feel particularly inclined towards conversation at the moment but he was glad that Charlie had not started with, _How are you holding up_, or, _Don't you worry, champ._

Al had always liked his Uncle Charlie. When he was little he and James had loved Charlie's stories about dragons and when he would show them the burn marks on his arms. He was forever the _cool_ one, the adventurous one, always up for a laugh. He looked far more somber now than Albus had ever seen him.

"Did Harry or Ginny ever tell you about the Chamber of Secrets?"

This caught Albus by surprise and he glanced over at his uncle and furrowed his brow. "Not really," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I know Dad killed a giant snake and Mum was there but they didn't go much into details."

Charlie nodded, not looking away from Albus. He appeared to weigh his next words carefully. "Well, there was a bit more to it than all that."

Al resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I guessed," he said flatly.

A ghost of a smile flitted across Charlie's face before disappearing again.

"Did they ever tell you that your mother almost died that night?"

Albus blinked and opened his mouth but no words came out. He shut it again and shook his head. Charlie sighed and leaned forward so that his elbows were resting on his legs. He took a moment before continuing. "I almost lost my sister that night, Al. They told us she was gone. They actually told us she was dead."

Al could do nothing but continue to stare at Charlie, transfixed. Charlie was staring straight ahead but did not seem to be focusing on anything in particular, as though instead of seeing the woods or the field he was reliving that moment when he had heard the dreadful news about his little sister. Al had a fleeting image of himself in Professor McGonagall's office in the middle of the night. _I'm afraid she's missing._

Charlie was speaking again and Al snapped back to the present. "Mum and Dad told us before rushing off to Hogwarts. Bill and I were the only ones out of school then so it wasn't hard letting just the two of us know. They said something terrible had happened and they had to go. Bill wouldn't let them leave until they told us that Ginny – that Ginny was…." Charlie paused, swallowed, and continued. "I've never seen Bill lose it like that. I really haven't. It—"

Again, Charlie stopped abrumptly. He sat up straighter and ran a hand over his face before turning towards Albus. "The _point_ is that she wasn't really gone. Ginny was fine in the end despite what everyone had told us."

_But Lily really is gone,_ Al couldn't help thinking and he felt his stomach twist uncomfortably. He did not want to voice such a thing aloud and waited for Charlie to keep talking.

"Your dad saved her, Albus. Even when we all thought – _knew_ – that Ginny was gone, he went down into the _Chamber _of _Secrets_, a place that's not even supposed to _exist_, and brought our sister back to us."

At this point Albus finally realized where this whole story had been leading. He looked back over his shoulder through the Burrow's kitchen window. He saw his father standing, his arm around his wife, as those inside talked loudly amongst each other. Harry Potter was Al's hero in every way that a father is his son's hero, but at that moment, he was something more. He could not say why, but as he felt then that somehow, they _would_ get Lily back.

* * *

><p>After Lily had practically fled from the Charms classroom she hurried through the crowded corridors wanting nothing more than somewhere to hide and cry. She was jostled by students bustling about between classes and the general clamor of chattering students and shouts all turned into a kind of buzzing in her ears. As she strode quickly through the halls she scrubbed at her eyes to wipe away the tears pooling there, frustrated that her emotions had been so unpredictable lately. The only silver lining to this was that it fit her cover story perfectly. Any oddities in her behavior – such as running out of class practically in tears – could be attributed to the recent "loss of her parents."<p>

Sometimes she was _fine_, she thought she was adjusting, but sometimes – seemingly at random – something would happen that set her off. It was no easy task, adjusting to living twenty years in the past.

The days were not as unbearable as they had been at first and she was not so cripplingly awkward most of the time. She had actually been _cheerful_ not ten minutes ago. _Why_ had the thought of her parents getting together done this to her? Maybe it was because it had hit home yet again that so many things she remembered, took for granted, so many people she knew – they had not happened yet.

She needed to get away.

Lily continued to roam the corridors, not caring where she was going or whether she was going around in circles. She was trying to find somewhere to be alone but walking through the increasingly vacant halls seemed to be helping. Her pace slowed as did her breathing.

_I need somewhere to be alone._

As she thought this a door appeared to her right and Lily jumped back against the opposite wall. She was momentarily startled so badly that she held her breath and did not move. And then she stepped away from the wall and turned around to see the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, which she had passed twice already. Spinning to face the other way, her hair flying over her shoulder, Lily looked back at the door in the wall and almost laughed in relief.

_The Room of Requirement! Of course!_

Her father had told her about the Room of Requirement, though something had happened to it in the Battle of Hogwarts and it had never been the same afterwards. It had not occurred to Lily to even look for the room. She had forgotten that here, in nineteen ninety seven, the Room of Requirement was in perfect working condition.

With a broad smile on her face Lily stepped forward and flung open the door. Immediately fresh, cool air reached her and she breathed in deeply. She hurried inside, closing the door loudly behind her and nearly laughed as her thoughts rapidly pulled her in a hopeful direction.

_Anything you need_, she kept thinking. _This room gives you _anything_ you need._

That's what her father had told her. She leaned against the door she had come through and closed her eyes. It was quiet in the room, but a peaceful quiet rather than an unsettling one. It was the sort of quiet found in the very early morning. It was calming.

_I need somewhere to sit down_, she thought experimentally. A second later she peeked open one eye and then the other and could not suppress a cry of delight. Just in front of her stood a velvety red armchair with deep cushions – the sort found in the Gryffindor Common Room. She reached forward to touch it. The fabric beneath her fingers was the softest she had ever felt. She sank down into the chair and closed her eyes.

_A room that gives you anything you ask for._ The hope bubbled up inside her again. Anything she needed…

Her heart started to beat faster and Lily got quickly to her feet, unable to sit still for a moment longer. If this worked… she could be home any _second_ now. She could see her parents again, her brothers. She felt certain this would work. Still pacing Lily tried to take a deep, calming breath. She wrapped her arms around herself and closed her eyes and thought, _I need to get home, to get back to my own time. I need a way to get back where I belong._

Her heart was beating in her throat. Her eyes were still closed. She stopped pacing. Lily had never wanted anything more in her entire life.

Finally she opened her eyes and saw that the room was exactly the same. The red chair was still there, the same cool, fresh air filled the room, but nothing else did. Lily spun around, searching every corner, every crevice of the empty room, but it was just that. Empty. Her hopes plummeted and she felt sick to her stomach. But maybe… she held onto a sliver of hope.

Perhaps it _had _worked. She could walk out that door and right back into her own time. She _needed _it and that was exactly what the room was for.

Desperate, Lily sprinted to the door and flung it open. The corridor looked the same but that did not mean anything. She ran out into the hall, her feet pounding on the stone floor, her bad banging against her hip. As she turned the corner she ran straight into someone going the other way and fell to the floor. When Lily saw his face her heart sank even further than she had ever known was possible. In front of her, still standing and rubbing his shoulder, was a sixteen-year-old Draco Malfoy. She let out the smallest moan of despair. Her limbs suddenly felt like lead.

"Not even going to apologize for nearly knocking me over?" Malfoy sneered at her but Lily was not paying attention. She stared ahead, not seeing Malfoy, or the two nervous first year girls behind him. There was only one thought in her mind. _It didn't work_. She was still in the past, still _trapped_ there.

As Malfoy continued down the corridor, the two girls trailing behind, Lily pulled her legs in towards her chest and rested her forehead on her knees. She felt cheated, and though she had not even remembered the room's existence until a few moments ago it felt as though her last hope had just slipped through her fingers.

* * *

><p>A few days after the family meeting at the Burrow James was back at work. The initial shock of Lily's disappearance had now evolved into a fierce determination to get something done, a feeling that had been echoed in the rest of his family members. And while his work in the Experimental Charms Department was not necessarily going to be very helpful he resolved to use his resources there any way he could to help his sister.<p>

As he strode purposefully through the Ministry Atrium he tried to focus on his most recent project – recovering magically erased memories - rather than dwell too much on Lily. In holding with his father's wishes that they keep Lily's disappearance from becoming common knowledge he had to try and act as normally as possible. He did his best to ignore the witches and wizards bustling all around him but the close he got to the lift the harder this became. A crowd was rapidly forming around one of the floo grates. Among the usual bustle of Ministry employees there were photographers and a number of witches and wizards with parchment and quill in hand. There were a few bright flashes as cameras went off and James slowed his pace, standing on tip toe to try and see what all the commotion was about.

"What's all the fuss," the disgruntled voice of Edmund Perkins asked from James's left. He turned to see the man glaring over at the spectacle and he readjusted his glasses. James shrugged. A woman he did not know turned around.

"It's one of the Unspeakables," she whispered conspiratorially. "Apparently one of them went missing a few days ago."

"That's nothing unusual," James said, raising his eyebrows. "Working in the Department of Mysteris, strange things are bound to happen." It was true. Unspeakables got up to all sorts of dangerous and secretive activities. No one but members of the Department knew exactly what they did there but there could be any number of reasons for his absence.

The woman turned to face them fully, pulling her purple cloak more tightly around her. "Well, it's the memory loss that got the press interested. One of the journalists for the _Daily Prophet_ tipped everyone off to it – don't know why, you'd think they'd _love_ the exclusive. It's been a madhouse around here the past few days."

Beside him Perkins seemed intrigued by this news but James merely rolled his eyes. All these journalists were clearly digging for a story where they were not going to find one. The Unspeakables were just that. They were not well known for their willingness to give interviews. His own department worked more closely with them than most and even he knew next to nothing that went on there. James groaned when he realized that Experimental Charms might yet get dragged into this mess, especially considering what he and his colleagues had been working on.

The crowd across the Atrium was continuing to draw attention and James fought to make his way to the lifts. He nodded to the woman in the purple cloak and waved back at Perkins.

"See you, Potter," Perkins called loudly over the increasing noise. James entered the nearest lift and before he had even turned around a woman with straight dark hair entered after him, an eager look on her face. After the first two floors they were the only two people left on the lift.

James glanced over at her and saw that she was carrying a roll of parchment and a quill was sticking out of her handbag. He scowled. A journalist. She was probably in her forties, though from the excessive make-up she wore he guessed that she would never admit it. Her skirt was awkwardly shaped to her figure and her perfume was making it hard for James to concentrate. He felt like his brain was filling with smoke. He noticed her furtive glances in his direction although she was clearly trying to be subtle.

When the lift finally arrived at James's level he was only too glad to get off. But the moment he stepped forward the woman said, "Oh, you work on this floor, do you? Well, how lucky for me." And she stepped off after him.

James gritted his teeth and did his best to ignore her as he made his way to his cubicle. When it because clear that she was going to follow him James came to an abrupt halt and turned sharply.

"Do you _mind_?"

"Not at all," the woman replied with a wide smile that stretched out her thin lips. "Pansy Parkinson," she offered, a hand held out for him to shake. He did not take it but she did not falter. "I'd like to ask you a few questions."


	6. Secrets

**World Enough and Time – Chapter Six**

**Secrets**

James had been having one _hell_ of a day so far.

In the hours since he had arrived at the Ministry that morning he had scarcely had two minutes to himself. He had been rushed in and out of various meetings, had piles of parchment shoved into his hands or deposited on his desk in heaps, and he had received countless memos and tasks from his various superiors. And everywhere there was hushed and hurried talk about the previously-missing-and-now-found Unspeakable, Terry Boot.

The most that anyone knew was this: that Terry Boot had mysteriously gone missing a few days earlier in the Department of Mysteries and had now showed up with no memory of the time that he had been gone, nor what had caused his disappearance in the first place.

Since then the Experimental Charms Department had, as James had dreaded, been dragged into the investigation due to their recent work on memory recovery. Not only did this mean that he would have less time to research a solution to Lily's disappearance but the whole fiasco had been something of a media frenzy all morning and James _loathed_ reporters.

Pansy Parkinson, who he had met briefly in the lift, was everything that James hated about the press. She was artificial, underhanded, and far too nosy for her own good. He had spent his first ten minutes in the office not-so-courteously brushing her off before she had begun to pester his various co-workers. Had there been some sort of restriction to the media's presence in the Ministry her poking around would have been easily solved but as it was everyone was doing their very best to simply ignore her.

Currently James was walking briskly to his cubicle, one hand shoved in his pocket the other rubbing absent-mindedly at the back of his head, tousling his scruffy dark hair. He sighed deeply and turned a corner before stopping short. What he saw was a most unwelcome sight. At the end of the row, standing just outside his office space, was the very last person he wanted to see - Pansy Parkinson - and she was peering obviously over at his desk. James groaned.

He spun around and began heading in the other direction but the sound of high-heeled shoes clacking against the floor told him that he had been spotted and was now being followed. James doubled back the way he had come and took the long way through the sea of desks and cubicle walls. There were a good number of Ministry workers bustling about, purple memos flying about overhead, and James hoped to get lost in the shuffle. When he finally did make it back to his desk there was already someone there though he breathed a brief sigh of relief that it was not the nosy reporter.

Elaine Goodrich, one of James's coworkers, was shuffling through the piles of parchment on his desk, her foot tapping anxiously on the ground. He cleared his throat and Elaine spun around, her short, dark brown curls whipping her in the face, and burst into speech immediately.

"James, Abercrombie's just sent out _another_ memo! He says he wants our reports on memory-recovery _by the end of the day_, which is just ridiculous. It's too soon. We haven't done enough research or _any_ testing. And do you have that report on the _obliviate_ charm because I can't find mine. I think I lost it, or maybe Magical Maintence vanished all my paperwork _again_…."

Here Elaine practically snorted in frenzied frustration and turned back to the desk to continue rifling through the parchment. James opened his mouth and then closed it again, unsure what to say to the young woman currently ransacking his office space. Before he could think of a response that would not set off her already frazzled nerves she was speaking again.

"_How_ can Abercrombie expect us to finish our reports when we're interviewing Terry Boot in a few hours? It's absurd. There just isn't enough _time_. _Aha!"_

It seemed Elaine had finally found what she was looking for and she grasped the parchment triumphantly before turning back towards James. James, still trying to catch up with everything Elaine had just spewed at him, failed to notice that the look of excitement on his colleague's face had turned rapidly to surprise. Therefore it was too late to do anything when he felt a hand grip down on his shoulder and spin him around.

He groaned loudly when he saw the short, brunette reporter standing behind him. Parkinson had a smirk on her face and she sauntered into the small space as though it were her own office. James was forced to take several steps backwards out of her path. She looked between him and Elaine, her dark eyebrows high on her forehead.

"So, you two are working on the Terry Boot case, are you? How wonderful." She smiled. James glanced over at Elaine, who was staring at Parkinson with obvious distaste. Neither of them answered her.

Elaine met James's gaze and grimaced. "You know, I really have a lot of work to do and not enough time to do it in so I should really be going." She had to shimmy sideways to avoid coming into contact with Parkinson, who was still standing the in middle of the small space. James glared at Elaine as she left and she made a face and mouthed _good luck_ before darting around the corner of the cubicle. Pansy did not even seem to notice Elaine's departure but was inspecting the office instead.

It was not a neat space. Along with the mounds of parchment scattered across the desk there were also ink bottles, quills, and old crumpled memos. There were old newspapers, old coffee cups, stains from old coffee cups, and sweets wrappers. A small filing cabinet with a potted plant on top stood in the corner and the walls were half-covered with photographs of James's family and friends. Although it was extremely untidy, it was comfortable.

James did not hold back as he glared opening at Pansy. She ignored this however and, with a wave of her wand, a corner of James's desk cleared and she seated herself on it, crossing her legs. Her skirt shifted up her legs in an unflattering way.

"If you don't mind, I have a lot or work—"

But Parkinson cut him off with a short high-pitched laugh that showed off her large, brilliantly white teeth. "Oh, _James_, I'm sure you can spare a few minutes for a friendly chat," she said dismissively. James was not surprised that she knew his name. He opened his mouth to protest but Pansy started talking again before he got the chance.

"Lovely family," she said and her hand darted out to one of the photos pinned to the wall. James recognized it immediately – it was one of he, Albus, and Lily standing outside of the house. It was the last year that all three of them had been at Hogwarts together and in the picture their trunks were visible behind them along with a large owl cage. The three of them were smiling widely. Lily was waving.

James could see Pansy's long nails scratch the surface of the photograph and her grip creased the middle of the picture, right over his sister's smiling face. The Lily in the picture leaned left and right, struggling to peer out from behind Pansy's thumb.

"Don't touch that," he snapped, more threateningly than he had intended. Pansy merely looked at him, a small smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. She still held the photo tightly in her hand.

"Your brother, he looks _just_ like your father," she said. James said nothing. His hands clenched into fists and he fought the urge to grab his wand, which was tucked in his back pocket. "And your sister, her name is Lily, isn't it? Such a pretty girl."

"Get out," James growled but Pansy did not rise from the desk. Her smile widened ever so slightly.

"Now, James," she said, as if reprimanding a small child, "I'm just making conversation."

"You're fishing for a story but you won't find one here," he said but it occurred to him that not once since entering the office had Pansy reached for the parchment and quill poking out of her handbag.

She raised one eyebrow at him. "I assure you, this is entirely off the record."

"Then what _do _you want? No. Actually, you know what? I don't care. Get out of my office." He pointed to the exit. Pansy stood but rather than leaving she took a step towards James. She was no longer smiling.

"All right, James, I'll tell you the truth," she started slowly, taking another step towards him. "It's just that I'm very worried about Terry. Do you really think your department will be able to retrieve his memories?" She paused and adopted an entirely unconvincing look of deepest concern. "We were in the same year at Hogwarts, you know, and _such_ good friends."

But... there _was_ something like worry in her eyes. James was convinced that she was lying, but if she was not worried about Terry Boot's well being, what _was _she worried about? Her increasingly close proximity was making him extremely uncomfortable and his hand twitched towards his wand again.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Parkinson, but I really do have a lot of work to do," he said as evenly as he could, refusing to break eye contact first.

She stared at him for a long moment before turning and snatching her bag from his desk. She paused only briefly in the doorway and looked back over her shoulder, her lips pursed, and then she was gone. James remained where he stood, his mind racing, trying to puzzle out what had just happened. Pansy Parkinson was up to no good, of that he was sure. She wanted information, very confidential information, and it troubled James greatly that he had no idea _why_.

* * *

><p>Lily had never made a habit of skipping classes but since her recent disappointment with the Room of Requirement she found it increasingly hard to sit through her lessons with her fifteen-year-old mother and pretend that everything was normal. <em>Nothing<em> about this was normal. She had tried, really _tried_, to act as if nothing was wrong but it was only getting harder. After her unfortunate encounter with the Room, something inside of her seemed to have snapped.

Her emotions were no longer running as wild as they had been before – almost cheerful one moment and ready to burst into tears the next –but instead she felt a horrible sort of numbness. She was tired all of the time. Everything was wrong and nothing was changing. Lily was afraid that she was giving up.

However she was not quite to that desperate point yet. At least part of her was still fighting and Lily refused to accept that she would be stuck in the past forever. All the pretending was what felt like giving up. Why try and fit in and live a normal life here when she would be going back to her own? She did not want to adjust. Adjusting meant planning for an extended stay here. It meant coping. It meant forgetting about the life she really belonged in.

And so she had already skipped Transfiguration at the beginning of the week and her most recent Potions class as well. Neither McGonagall nor Slughorn had said anything to her about the absences but she suspected Gryffindor had lost a few points. At the moment she was due in Defense Against the Dark Arts but this was perhaps the class Lily was most keen to avoid.

For one thing any time spent in the presence of Severus Snape was decidedly uncomfortable. He was constantly giving Lily suspicious looks and on more than one occasion had given Lily the impression that he knew exactly what _she_ was thinking about _him. _Not to mention that in addition to Snape's unpleasant company the class was fairly upsetting to Lily because of all the talk about a war going on – a war that Lily had covered in History of Magic but was now a part of simply by being alive in nineteen ninety seven. It was nothing if not unsettling.

And so Lily was avoiding her lessons, and the people in them, and spending her time in a few little haunts around the castle. Currently it was the Astronomy Tower, an area out of bounds except for classes and mercifully empty during the day. She sat with her back against one of the stone parapets, her hair ruffled from the steady breeze that blew across the tower.

In the peace and quiet of her hideaway Lily closed her eyes and, once again, tried to think back to the night she had traveled back in time. Classes that day, dinner, the Common Room, and then nothing. Had she been studying? Asleep in her bed? Wandering the corridors?

The last was a fairly likely possibility and she was quite prone to wandering the castle at night, especially with the aid of the Marauders Map. But the Map had been confiscated and neither she nor Albus had yet been to steal it back from Filch's office.

At the thought of the Map Lily had the sudden sinking feeling that she was forgetting something _awfully _important. But before she could dwell too much on that another horrible thought occurred to her: _Harry has the Map._

Harry had the Map, that Map that never lied, that Map that at any moment could betray not only her location but her _name_. Another Potter on the Map would not be easily brushed aside. Lily's eyes flew open in horror and for a brief panicked moment she considered running back to Gryffindor Tower and ransacking her father's things and stealing the Map away from him. But this idea was gone as fast as it had come and Lily's rational side caught up.

She had seen Harry pouring over the Map in the Common Room when he thought no one was looking. He was looking for someone and he had spent hours doing so. If in all that time he had not spotted the traitorous dot of _Lily Potter_ than it was unlikely he would do so. Not to mention the fact that Peter Pettigrew had lived as a rat in her father's own dormitory for a year while he had had the map and no one ever noticed _him._ There were hundreds of dots on that map and no one was likely to notice her unless they were really looking. Lily began to relax and put the Map out of her mind, turning her thoughts back to her night-time wanderings and possible explanations for her unprecedented predicament.

Perhaps she had been to Filch's office and encountered some sort of dangerous magical object? Maybe someone had attacked her and used some sort of complicated magic? The more Lily thought about the possibilities the more unlikely each of them seemed. Her head started to ache terribly and she sighed in frustration. She had nothing to go on – no clues, no prospects, and dwindling hope that she would ever be put right.

Lily did not know how long exactly she stayed up in the tower but when the sunlight began to fade to the pastel shades of twilight and the breeze took on a chill she decided it was time to venture back down into the castle. She stood, stretched her sore limbs, and walked over to the door leading to the stairs but before she had grasped the handle the door swung open and Lily felt her heart sink.

Professor Snape stood before her, looking grimmer than usual, his black robes in stark contrast with the brilliant bright hues of the sky stretched out around them. He sneered at her.

"You neglected to attend your Defense Against the Darks Arts lesson, Ms. McGonagall." Lily swallowed. A few strands of bright red hair flew in front of her face but she did not reach up to move them. She tried to look Snape in the eye when she spoke, tried to look as innocent and honest as possible.

"I didn't feel well," she said but it sounded horribly like an empty excuse. She slumped her shoulders a little.

Snape was ready for her. "Madame Pomfrey has not seen any patients today." His sneer became more pronounced. "If you were ill, why did you not go to see her?"

"I didn't want to trouble her," Lily said in a voice barely louder than a whisper. She looked down at her shoes.

Snape held open the door and gestured for her to descend the stairs. Lily remained frozen for a moment. "We do not tolerate _liars_ at Hogwarts, Ms. McGonagall. You look well enough to me. Certainly well enough for a visit to the Headmaster's office."

* * *

><p>From what James could tell the entirety of the Department of Mysteries was bathed in a strange, blue light and that, combined with the thick silence around them, gave him the impression that he was very deep underwater. Of course, James could not be certain that the <em>whole<em> department looked that way, especially because he could only see a sliver of the floor from the bottom of the blindfold tied around his face. He, Elaine, and Walter Macmillan, a tall and gangly chap just a few years older than James, were in the process of being escorted through the department by Fletcher Smith, an Unspeakable who looked to James to be about a hundred years old. He was generally crotchety and impatient, especially when it had come to the blindfolds.

Elaine had even laughed when he presented them each with a swatch of black cloth. "You expect us to wear blindfolds?" She continued to giggle and Fletcher had gazed back stonily.

"It's the Department of _Mysteries_," he said blandly. "How else do you think it's stayed all mysterious for this long?"

Elaine's smile had dropped in half a second when she realized the blindfolds were not a joke and she glanced at James and Walter, his shoulders sagging, before tying the piece of fabric around her head. James had smirked over at Walter and the two of them followed Elaine's lead.

Now they were on their way to what must have been near the heart of the department. They had been though a spinning room with flickering light, a few long and twisting corridors, down a few short flights of stairs, and everywhere there was the constant impression of blue. As they walked James tried to gauge how deep into the Ministry they were going, tried to remember the turns that they took – left, right, right again – but everything fell apart in that strange, spinning room. By the time Fletcher told them to remove their blindfolds James was quite effectively lost.

James blinked a few times while his eyes adjusted to the light and when he could finally look around he could not suppress a gasp. Beside him Elaine's mouth was hanging halfway open in awe and Walter let out a low whistle.

Straight ahead of them was a long line of shelves covered, from what he could see, with none other than_ time turners_. He thought instantly of Lily and the shattered time turner that was the only clue as to what had happened to her. Instantly, James felt both a pang of loss at Lily's disappearance and a sudden spring of hope that something about this project might just help to get her back. Returning to work had definitely been the right decision.

"Took us years to replace all those," Fletcher growled when he saw James staring at the time turners. "Only just recently finished with them. They were all smashed a while back when Death Eaters got into the place."

This story sounded vaguely familiar to James but he shook off the feeling and turned to look around the rest of the room. There were a number of large wooden desks and tables lining the walls with all sorts of strange objects that James did not recognize. Elaine and Walter had both wandered over to closer inspect the intriguing items while Fletcher watched them through narrowed eyes. James's own attention was drawn to a large and eerily glowing bell jar on one of the tables.

He walked up closer to it and Elaine followed him. The two of them stood and stared, observing the strange contents in fascination. It appeared to be filled with a kind of shimmering dust that was blowing in a strong wind contained within the glass. At the top, there was a hummingbird, fluttering it's bright wings, but the bird was slowly descending and as it did so it became smaller, its feathers fluffier and then, when it reached the bottom of the jar it became an egg. As the egg began to rise again the hummingbird emerged and grew back into its adult form.

"What is it?" Elaine breathed in wonder, hardly blinking as she watched the bird's progress.

"I think it's _time_," James replied, tearing his eyes away to gaze around the room again. Everything here seemed to have something to do with time. Had he truly gotten so lucky? He was certain that there was something here that could save Lily – but how would he ever go about finding it?

"I didn't know Terry Boot worked with _time_ of all things," Walter said from behind them. "How extremely fascinating!"

"Well, no one really knows what any of us do down here do they," Fletcher grumbled. "Seeing as we don't _tell_ anyone. Enough snooping around. You three are here for a reason and it's time you got to work. I'll go fetch the lad."

With this Fletcher turned and walked towards one of the doors that lined the side of the room. James watched him go, his thoughts still with Lily and how, if there was indeed a way to retrieve his sister, the answer might reside in Terry Boot's memories – the very place he had been instructed to investigate.

* * *

><p>Lily scuffed her shoes on the stone floor of the corridors as she followed glumly behind Snape. As they made their way to Professor Dumbledore's office, Lily scowled at the back of the man's head. She could not help wondering, once again, what Severus Snape had ever done to earn her father's respect.<p>

They reached the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office far too quickly for Lily's liking. Snape offered the password, Fizzing Whizbee, with a sour face and Lily had the urge to giggle at his discomfort but restrained herself.

They climbed the revolving stairs and at the top Snape knocked on the large wooden door. He was answered immediately by Dumbledore's pleasant voice granting them entry. Lily stepped in after Snape. The office, just as the last time she had been there, hummed with the sounds of strange silver objects on the tables and along the shelves. Behind Dumlbedore's desk sat a phoenix who trilled contentedly. The sound made Lily smile.

Dumbledore was seated at his desk and looked up upon their entrance. "Ah, Severus. And Ms. McGonagall. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

His tone was light but Lily was sure he knew that this was not merely a social call. Although Lily was coming to understand what a very strange man Albus Dumbledore was, she knew that he was also a very, very clever one.

"Ms. McGonagall has been skipping classes," Snape said coolly, stepping aside so as to give the Headmaster a better view of the accused. Lily arranged her face to be as expressionless as she could make it.

"Indeed?" Dumbledore asked. Lily hoped she was imagining the slight note of disappointment.

"Most recently she has neglected to attend her Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson this morning and was not missing due to illness. I found her occupying the Astronomy Tower."

Dumbledore nodded and turned his piercing blue eyes towards Lily. She stared back, not defiantly, but not apologetically either. She fidgeted uncomfortably where she stood, waiting as Dumbledore considered the situation and Snape awaited the verdict.

"Severus, I would like to speak to Lillian alone for a few moments. If you would be kind enough to wait outside." It was not a question and Snape stepped out of the office without complaint. As he turned away however Lily did catch a scowl on his features. She did not put it past the man to be listening at the door. Her attention was diverted when Dumbledore addressed her.

"Please take a seat," he offered and Lily understood that this also was not merely a suggestion. She sat in the nearest chair, wondering if Albus Dumbledore were the type of man who shouted a lot when he was angry.

For a moment he did not say anything and Lily felt increasingly uncomfortable. Just as she was about to speak up herself did the Headmaster begin talking. "I would ask you why you neglected to attend Professor Snape's lesson but I am sure we both know the answer to that, Ms. Potter." Lily glanced nervously at the door, thinking of Snape, before she turned back to stare at a space just above Dumbledore's shoulder. It was now difficult to meet his eyes.

"I don't belong here," she said, and as she did so her shoulders sagged. "Why pretend that I do?"

"If I knew how to help you, Lily, I would," Dumbledore said, so earnestly that Lily met his gaze again. He did not in fact appear to be angry with her at all, merely concerned. For some reason this troubled Lily greatly.

"You can't… you can't send me home, can you," she asked in a voice barely louder than a whisper. She waited, feeling her heart beating in her chest.

"As of this moment… no. The truth is that it may not be up to anything I do. This does not, however, mean that I will stop trying."

She wanted to be angry, angry with Dumbledore, angry with herself for not remembering how she got here, angry for being here in the first place, but she simply could not muster the strength. The emptiness that had filled her since she had encountered the Room of Requirement seemed to stretch out further inside of her so that she felt thin and tired. Surely, if Albus Dumbledore could not help her, no one could.

"However, Ms. Potter," the Headmaster continued in a mildly more authoritative voice, "until we do find a way to get you back where you belong you will need to continue attending your lessons."

Lily's eyes narrowed in defiance. "What for," she snapped without thinking. Then, feeling embarrassed at having addressed the man across from her so rudely, she added rather lamely, "Professor."

Dumbledore's eyes were no longer as grave as they had been a moment before. Indeed they were almost twinkling. "Your education is important. In addition, I believe that by regularly attending classes, completely homework, and keeping an altogether normal schedule will help to keep your mind from more unpleasant territory. I trust the library has been of little help to you so far. Although I applaud your efforts I'm afraid we are dealing with a rather mysterious and poorly understood branch of magic."

Lily did not ask how he knew that she had been spending almost every day in the library. He had a point, but she did not want to see it.

"I don't want to be distracted," she argued, though more mildly than she had a moment ago. "I don't want to sit and pretend that everything is normal when it's _not_. Nothing about this is _normal_." Her voice became more strained, a note of desperation finding its way in, but Lily went on. Now that she had started talking to someone about how wrong everything was she found it hard to stop. "It's not right, attending classes with your mother or being taught by people who are supposed to be dead or worrying about how your family is doing when your brothers haven't even been _born _yet. I haven't even been born yet!"

Dumbledore raised one hand to signal for her to keep her voice down and Lily took a shuddering breath, trying to calm herself. When she spoke again her voice was strangled with pent up emotion.

"I don't want to be in school with my sixteen-year-old father. I want to see my _dad_. I miss my family, my friends, my _life_. Nothing I have here is real. And I can't remember how I got here or what happened at all before I woke up here and I'm angry with myself because surely, _surely_, I should be able to remember something." Lily's head began to ache and she felt tears prickling behind her eyes but she ignored both.

"I want to go home," she whispered, no longer able to meet Dumbledore's eyes. Now that she had gotten all of that out she felt somehow childish and wrong-footed. A glance at the Headmaster showed that he was watching her with concern, looking older than she had yet seen him.

In the silence that ensued Lily heard a sudden scuffle from outside the office door. Her head snapped in that direction as Dumbledore rose from his chair and walked swiftly over to it. Lily felt her heart fluttering in her chest. _Has someone heard? Snape?_

Dumbledore swung the door open and Lily mouth fell open in surprise at the scene that appeared in the doorway. Professor Snape was still there but he was not alone. His fist was gripped tightly around Harry's collar while Harry himself had his wand pointed at Snape's chest, a furious expression on his face that Lily had never seen before.

"What is going on here," Dumbledore asked quietly, with such fierce authority that Lily felt the urge to back away from him. She stood slowly from her seat to get a better view of the scene before her. Lily was glad that she could not see Dumbledore's eyes - she was sure that they were furious and frightening.

Neither of the two wizards that Dumbledore was addressing answered him. In fact, it seemed they had not heard him at all.

"Lower your wand, you _petulant_ child," Snape snarled, gripping Harry's shirt tighter, close to shaking him. Harry did not lower his wand. He opened his mouth to retort angrily but Dumbledore cut him off.

"Severus you will release Harry _now_. Harry, _lower your wand_."

Neither took their eyes off the other but Snape did let go of Harry's collar. Harry half lowered his wand. He was clearly furious and it troubled Lily to see him so openly angry. Lily took a step away from the door but did not turn away.

"What has happened," Dumbledore asked, his quiet voice very clear in the otherwise oppressive silence.

Harry jumped in before Snape had a chance to. "_Him,_" he shouted. "Snape's what's happened! He told Voldemort about the prophecy, it was _him_, _he_ listened outside the door, Trelawney told me!"

Lily furrowed her brow in confusion. _Prophecy?_

Snape's expression changed so rapidly that Lily would have missed it had she blinked. His outrage remained but there was something deeper now as well, something like pain.

"_Don't talk about what you don't understand_," he nearly shouted but Harry ignored him entirely. He continued to look at Dumbledore, hurt and betrayal and mostly anger playing opening across his features. It made Lily's heart ache to watch it.

Dumbledore chose to address Harry first. "When did you find out about this," he asked quietly.

"Just now!" Harry's voice sounded strangled. "AND YOU LET HIM TEACH HERE AND HE TOLD VOLDEMORT TO GO AFTER MY MUM AND DAD!"

Lily's hand flew to cover the gasp that escaped her mouth. She backed away a few more steps and the back of her legs bumped into a plush sofa against the wall. She collapsed into it.

Snape, lost in anger, shoved Harry hard against the wall and Harry raised his wand again, right at Snape's heart.

"_ENOUGH!_"

Lily winced and the two other wizards sprang apart at Dumbledore's shout, though she suspected this was not entirely of their own volition. Lily could see Dumbledore's wand peeking from the bottom of his sleeve though she had not seen him draw it. Harry walked further into the circular office and froze at the sight of Lily in the room and she hoped she was not about to be shouted at. Once again he had caught her listening in on something that she should not have heard, as had happened after he had cursed Malfoy. Harry's cheeks, already flushed with anger, turned a slightly darker shade of pink. He glanced over at the Headmaster but Dumbledore appeared entirely unconcerned with Lily's presence.

Snape was standing off to one side, clearly as upset at Harry was but doing a marginally better job of hiding it. Lily felt entirely lost. Clearly, these two loathed each other as much as humanly possible. How could so much change in one year, one year with Snape at Hogwarts and Harry not? How could the two reconcile when there was obviously so much standing in their way?

_One of the bravest men I ever knew_. She could hear her father's voice. He was always saying things like that. "But that doesn't make any sense," she whispered to herself, so lost in her own confusing thoughts that she was not at first aware that she had spoken aloud.

"You wouldn't understand," Harry snapped at her before turning away, and Lily felt her chest constrict.

She tried not to be offended by the dismissive tone in his voice. Harry's face was still flushed and his eyes darted around the room as if looking for an escape. Lily wished she were anywhere else right now, that she had never heard _any_ of this conversation. Just as she was thinking this Dumbledore turned to her and said quietly, "Ms. McGonagall, if you would excuse us."

Lily stood on shaky legs and stared back at the three sets of eyes staring at her. Her heart was beating fast and her mind was racing and she struggled to put all of the pieces together. Harry's words were echoing in her head. _He told Voldemort to go after my mum and dad!_

"You – that's not – you couldn't have," she stuttered out at Snape. The tall man stood rigid, miserable looking, and when Lily spoke he glowered at her. She thought of her brother, Albus. "You didn't," she whispered. But she knew instantly from the dark look on the professor's face that she was wrong. She glanced around the rest of the room.

Harry was looking uncomfortable and Lily realized how strange this must look to him. She was a stranger to him, to all of them really. Lily wanted to run but she was the farthest of all of them from the door and the room seemed to stretch out before her, becoming impossibly long. She took a step forward but stopped when Harry spoke.

"Why do you care," he asked, his voice hoarse from the shouting he had done earlier.

And Lily _wanted_ to tell him, tell him that she cared because he was her _dad_ and because they were her family too, and that in this mess she had landed in she just wanted _one_ thing to make sense but that this newest revelation confused her more than anything else had so far. She wanted to tell him how wretchedly wrong everything was, how nothing was how it was supposed to be and about how _this_ situation now made the least sense out of anything. But instead Lily remained silent.

Snape turned to Dumbledore. "Albus, who _is_ this girl?"

Dumbledore took a moment before answering. He appeared to be weighing his options, considering possible scenarios, and Lily felt suddenly nervous. He could not possibly be considering telling them the _truth_. What about all of the risk involved? Her entire existence? Was Dumbledore really going to put these things on the line?

Lily found herself holding her breath. The rest of the air in the room seemed to still in anticipation. Desperately, Lily wished to be back home, for this all to be a terrible dream. If nothing else she wished Harry would stop _staring_ at her.

"She is not Lillian McGonagall. If you were ever convinced of this, Severus, I am sure that is no longer the case."

Her heartbeat sped up. He _could not_ tell them. She opened her mouth to protest, to shout, to scream in frustration but no sound came out. Her feet felt rooted to the carpet. And Harry was still staring, suspicion written all over his face.

"Her name is Lily," Dumbledore continued and Lily finally found her voice.

"No, you can't!" Her voice cracked with urgency. Panic was filling her up, fogging her thinking.

"Lily," Snape breathed, and something about the way he said it made Lily deeply uncomfortable. She stepped away from him, her legs knocking into the couch behind her.

"Lily who?" Harry asked skeptically.

Lily just looked at Dumbledore, pleading silently for him to lie but as he met her gaze she knew what he would say. _The truth is that it may not be up to anything I do._

"Lily Potter," Dumbledore said and in the wake of his quiet voice silence fell.

* * *

><p><strong>AN. Some quotes at the end straight from HBP.<strong>


	7. What Then Is Time

**World Enough and Time – Chapter Seven**

**What Then Is Time**

_What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know. – Saint Augustine_

* * *

><p>Terry Boot was the epitome of everything that Ravenclaw House embodied. He was naturally clever, adept, and sharp. He had chosen, from the numerous options that awaited him after school, a rather eccentric career working in the Department of Mysteries, which, while extremely prestigious, tended to attract a more <em>unusual<em> crowd. And he was not accustomed to forgetting things, to slipping up in his work, and certainly not to both at the same time.

The idea of someone else, a stranger, wandering through his mind was intensely unappealing, especially considering that he was not sure the memories everyone was so interested in were in his head to find at all.

As Terry walked slowly through the familiar halls of his department he sighed and rubbed his temples, straining his brain once again to remember _anything_ about when, how, why he had gone missing and why his memories had disappeared with him. Once again, he came up with nothing.

In a few short minutes Terry reached his destination and paused for a moment behind the shelves lined with time turners and listened. He could hear quiet, muffled voices – young, mostly male – and sighed, resigning himself to the inevitable. He could hear his colleague, the perpetually irritated Fletcher Smith, among the others and fought down another sigh.

"I'll go fetch lad," he heard Smith grumble and knew that he could only postpone the inevitable for so long.

Waiting just another moment Terry stepped out from behind the towering shelves, his hands shoved in his pockets, his gaze fixed on the wide-eyed employees from the Experimental Charms Department. Their hushed voices silenced when they saw him and his steps faltered very slightly. He tried to smile but was not at all confident in his success.

"Terry Boot," he introduced himself curtly when he reached them and he offered his hand to the young woman, who was closest. He shook each of their hands in turn, nodding at they introduced themselves. Elaine Goodrich, Walter Macmillan, James Potter.

Terry could not help his eyebrows lifting ever so slightly at this last introduction. Although he and Harry had never been close at Hogwarts they had taken a number of classes together, had been in the DA together, and Terry had always considered them to be on friendly terms. And so he had the good grace to ignore James's last name and move on.

"It's very nice to meet all of you," he said with a small shrug of his shoulders and as much of a smile as he could muster. "I only wish the circumstances were more pleasant."

Terry could tell he had only half of their attention. He could see their eyes flicking off in every direction, their faces lit with the pale blue light of the room, their expressions betraying that they were very eager to take everything in, to explore. Terry knew that feeling well; it never really faded even after working in the department for almost two decades. _Department of Mysteries indeed_, he thought, a smirk trailing at the corners of his mouth.

"All right, all right, enough pleasantries," Fletcher said in his usual growl. All attention snapped to him and Terry felt the vaguest twinge of nerves. He worked to keep his face impassive.

Elaine was clearly doing no such thing. Her face was alight with excitement and Terry hoped fervently that she would not be the one to delve into his mind. "I hope you're ready, Mr. Boot," she said. She pulled out her wand and Terry's hand instinctively twitched towards his own but Elaine was merely conjuring up some stiff wooden chairs that neatly arranged themselves into a circle. She frowned slightly. "I've never got the hang of conjuring the cushioned ones," she muttered to James.

When they had all taken a seat Terry cleared his throat and asked, "So, how are we getting started then?"

Elaine was busy rifling through a stack of parchment in her lap and James seemed distracted, his gaze lingering obviously on the shelves of time turners a few yards away. It was Walter who answered.

"We'll be asking you some questions first so we can narrow down the incident," he said, taking obvious care to speak calmly and clearly. "Then we have some charms we've been developing that will, hopefully, recover whatever memory has been magically obscured or altered. It's a bit like legilimency, but we won't have nearly as much of a broad range of your thoughts, and we've added some additional enchantments into it."

Despite his measured tone Walter's words did very little to calm Terry's nerves. He took a deep, shaky breath and resigned himself, nodding.

"They're quite good," Elaine insisted, beaming. "You shouldn't feel anything at all."

"And even if we don't find anything, they'll be no harm done," James said, his attention no longer focused on the time turners. Terry took a steadying breath and nodded again.

They sat for a moment in awkward silence before, with flushed cheeks and a bright smile Elaine said, "Let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

><p>In the oppressive silence Lily could hear her heart pounding in her ears, could almost feel the blood coursing through her veins, keeping her alive, breathing, standing despite the fact that her legs felt hollow and weak. She closed her eyes for a moment and wished for some sort of distraction, something so big and loud that Dumbledore's words would be nothing but a fading memory. The moment he had uttered her name her situation had become alarmingly real and Lily felt ill-equipped to cope.<p>

She also felt as though she had been caught out of bed after hours or in the Restricted Section of the library. Lily had the distinct impression that she had done something _wrong_ and when she opened her eyes again Snape's accusatory glare only intensified this feeling. Turning away from the glowering professor's stare she looked to Harry, who was gazing back at her with confusion, curiosity, and denial.

Lastly, Lily looked at Dumbledore, wondering _why_ he had told them her name when it was by his insistence that her identity be kept a secret in the first place. She could see in his expression, in his eyes, that something was wrong. He looked _old_ and he looked apologetic and Lily could see that Dumbledore felt he had had no choice.

_But why?_

Still the silence pressed on and Lily wondered if perhaps they could brush this off as an unlikely coincidence and no one need know anything else about her. But from the continued piercing looks she was receiving Lily knew there would be no leaving this office without some sort of explanation. She only wished that someone else would be the first to speak. _I'm your daughter from the future_, did not seem an acceptable way to continue the conversation.

Glancing again at Harry, whose emotions were, somewhat unusually, written all over his face, Lily was suddenly struck by his great resemblance to her brother Al. She felt a pang somewhere deep in her stomach at the thought of him and wished more than ever that she could see her family. She felt the way Harry currently looked – upset and confused and unsure what to do next. Lily could picture that expression so clearly on Al's nearly identical face and wondered if he had looked that way after finding out that she had disappeared.

"Albus, if you expect us to believe-"

Lily's eyes darted back to Snape when he started speaking, his low, chilled tones slicing easily through the silence. But Harry cut him off.

"What exactly is it that you expect us to believe," he began hotly, ignoring Snape's glare. "There is no way that this is my mother, I know what she looked like."

Lily's eyebrows rose in surprise and she thought of the grandmother she had never known. Although she had been named after the woman, she had seen pictures and knew that they had never shared any close physical resemblance. Her hair was the usual bright, Weasley orange rather than the dark red of Harry's mother and her eyes were brown like her own mother's rather than the startling shade of green that had been passed on to Albus.

_How ridiculous_, she thought but refrained from saying so. She had traveled back in time over two decades after all – who was she to say what was normal?

When no one replied Harry's cheeks flushed slightly and Lily glanced over at Snape, expecting a scathing remark at any moment. But Snape's attention was fixed on Dumbledore, his own pallor much paler than usual making him look like some sort of extra-solid ghost. "Lily Evans is _dead_, Albus. And this girl is fifteen years old. Lily would be close to forty now."

The way Snape had said the name _Lily Evans_, almost with a caress in his voice, made Lily squirm uncomfortably. Harry was looking quite uncomfortable as well, staring between Snape and herself, his hand still gripping his wand, which he had not put away after his brief confrontation with the Potions Master.

"Yes, Severus, Lily Evans is dead," Dumbledore said quietly, his expression grim. "However-"

"Then _who_ is _this_," Snape snarled, pointing a shaking finger at Lily's face. "She is _hiding something_, Dumbledore, I know it and I won't be lied to anymore."

Finally, Lily found her voice. "Who said _anything_ about _Evans_?"

In an instant all eyes were back on Lily and she looked desperately to the Headmaster to avoid looking at anyone else. _What are you doing_, she asked herself before more words tumbled out of her mouth.

"I just meant – that is – Lily Evans was my _grandmother_."

* * *

><p>"So you were preparing to leave for the day? You had finished all of your work?"<p>

"I remember packing up my things, yes. I was ready to leave."

The interviewing was taking longer that Terry would have liked. The three charms workers were careful not to let even the smallest detail slip between the cracks but how many times could he tell them he had packed his satchel before they believed him?

However he had to admit that it was nice to know they were serious about this endeavor. While Terry was still extremely uncomfortable at the thought of someone else rummaging around in his thoughts, these were certainly not the _worst_ set of people to be trusted with the job. He shifted his weight in the uncomfortable wooden chair and tried in vain to stop his foot from tapping nervously on the floor.

"And the last thing you remember is walking towards the door? Or is it before that, at your desk?"

Terry's eyebrows knit together as he considered Walter's question but he found it increasingly hard to concentrate with Fletcher's loud breathing and Elaine's quill scratching rapidly across the parchment in her lap. He closed his eyes in an attempt to push away his surroundings and the dull ache that was pressing at the base of his skull.

"I was walking," he said confidently. He remembered walking towards the door. In his mind's eye he could see himself lift his bag over his shoulder, could hear his footsteps echo in the large space as he made his way to the exit. He heard a rustling, shuffling, a voice.

Terry's eyes flew open and he stared at his interviewers. "Sorry, what was that," he asked, thinking perhaps he had missed one of their questions.

"We… didn't say anything," Elaine told him, a perplexed frown gracing her features. She leaned forward, her head tilting to one side.

"I thought I heard…." Something lingered tentatively on the edge of his memory that he could not quite grasp. He tried to reach for it but his head began to throb. Terry raised a hand up to the back of his neck and rubbed tiredly at it, trying hard to focus.

"You were walking…," Walter prompted patiently.

"I was walking," Terry repeated. He turned his head to stare up at the ceiling, which was glowing blue along with everything else. He had heard something – a voice.

_Someone else was there with me_.

Terry winced as this thought flooded to the front of his mind and he let out a small groan of pain. He clenched his eyes shut and rubbed his palms against them.

"What's wrong," Elaine asked frantically.

"Did you remember something else," James put in.

Terry nodded slowly but did not open his eyes. "There was someone there with me," he said quietly, baffled that he had not remembered this before. He supposed the environment was awakening something that had been repressed. When he did open his eyes his gaze darted around the vast room, half-wondering if he would see a figure lurking in the shadows.

"I thought you said you were the last to leave," James reminded him, not accusingly, but intently focused.

"Yes, you said you were working late," Walter said, nodding in agreement with James.

Elaine was practically bobbing in her seat. "Who was it?"

Terry scowled. "I don't know," he said in clipped tones, half from the pain, half from annoyance. "And I _was_ working late. I had seen everyone else leave but… I suppose it's possible someone came back. Maybe they forgot something."

But this sounded wrong when he said it aloud.

"Is it possible that it wasn't an Unspeakable," James proposed, voicing the doubts that were quickly forming in Terry's own mind.

Elained scowled. "Magical Maintenance?"

"Don't have 'em down here after hours," Fletcher said abruptly, contributing for the first time. "And not without constant surveillance. Can't have them sticking their noses in."

"This is the most secure department in the Ministry," Terry said quietly, "but it's not impenetrable." He looked at James when he said this, wondering if he knew of his father's long-talked about exploits at the Ministry so many years ago. There was nothing in James's expression to suggest he knew anything about that particular incident.

"So you don't remember who it was," Elaine asked, clearly disappointed. "No name, no face, nothing?"

Terry shook his head, grimacing. "That's what you all are here for, isn't it?"

There was a moment of silence and Terry realized that they had reached the end of their questioning. With a glance at each other James and Elaine both pulled out their wands and again Terry fought the reflex to draw his own. Some habits, he supposed, stayed forever.

"Who, er, who will be doing the actual…," Terry trailed off, unsure what to call the invasion into his mind.

"I will," James said quickly and if he had blinked Terry would have missed James's eyes darting back in the direction of the time turners.

"I'll just be spotting," Walter said, "and Elaine will be helping with the enchantments." Elaine nodded in affirmation.

Terry felt a rush of nerves overtake him as James and Elaine both directed their wands at him and he briefly considered stunning the lot of them and hurrying out but instead he swallowed hard and straightened his shoulders. The last thing he remembered thinking was wondering if, should they be successful, he would be glad he remembered at all.

* * *

><p>It took a moment for Lily's words to become a coherent statement in Harry's mind. He had already processed so much unexpected, unpleasant information that evening that this new shock caused his brain to move sluggishly in protest. The words from the girl in front of him now seemed to hang in the air, thick and heavy.<p>

_Lily Evans was my grandmother_.

Instinctively Harry looked to Dumbledore for answers but the Headmaster appeared neither surprised nor skeptical of this latest revelation. He had, after all, been the one to tell them her name was Lily Potter. But she _could not _be Lily Potter, certainly not a Lily Potter whose grandmother was Harry's own mother….

"I think I would know if I had a kid," he said loudly to no one in particular. "Not to mention that she's _fifteen_."

This should not even need refuting. Why was no one else saying _anything_? Why was Dumbledore looking so frustratingly calm and Snape – no, Harry could not even look at Snape without a terrible anger boiling up inside of him. The strange girl was looking pale and grim and sad and so… _familiar_. Her bright Weasley hair was tousled and seemed to fall wherever it pleased. Her eyes were brown, just the same shade as… as _Ginny's_.

_Lily Evans was my grandmother_.

Suddenly Harry's throat felt horribly dry and he shook his head. _Impossible_, he thought. Again, he turned to Dumbledore for some sort of answer or reassurance or contradiction. This time Dumbledore's blue piercing gaze met his own and Harry saw in his face that he believed her.

"No," he said quietly. "No, that's _ridiculous_. She's only a year younger than I am! Will someone please tell me what the _hell_ is actually going on here?"

"You've had some experience in this area, Harry," Dumbledore said quietly. "Time is not always precisely linear and it seems that Ms. Potter here has, through unknown means, managed to demonstrate just an event."

Harry remembered, very vividly in fact, the night he and Hermione had used her time turner. He remembered leading Buckbeak away from Hagrid's pumpkin patch, conjuring his first _real_ patronus, Sirius flying away and wondering when he would see him again. It was not an experience that Harry would be quick to forget but that entire ordeal had covered a matter of _hours_ not… not _years_.

The office was quiet again but this silence was not so overwhelming as before. The sun outside was still sinking rapidly behind the trees and Harry stared at orange light it splashed on the floor while trying to comprehend the possibility that the daughter he might someday have could be standing just a few feet away. He looked anywhere but at her, this girl he had not ever properly met, who he had not given a second thought to until now.

Harry rubbed his palms against his face and wished that Hermione were there to ask the questions that were only half-formed in his head. He could hear her voice as though she were standing right there.

_Awful things have happened when wizards have meddled with time._

"This… isn't happening," he said, more to himself than to anyone else in the room. He lowered his hands and, avoiding Lily's gaze, sank into the nearest chair.

Suddenly, Snape visibly flinched, his hand jerking reflexively to his left forearm where Harry knew the Dark Mark to be inked permanently into his skin. It had to be hurting him and Harry found that this thought did not bother him. What it meant, however, did. Voldemort was calling.

"Go, Severus," Dumbledore said quietly to his professor.

"I won't have to go far. They are _here_."

"Who?"

Reluctantly, Harry returned his attention to the girl still standing in the middle of the office. Her shoulders were slumped and her eyebrows were knit in confusion. "Who's here," she asked again.

When neither Dumbledore nor Snape responded Harry let out a sigh and said quietly, "Death Eaters."

Lily stared back at him, fear and confusion all over her face. "At _Hogwarts_? _Now?_"

"Now," Snape sneered and, with one more silent exchange with Dumbledore, he swept from the room. Lily continued to look back and forth between himself and Dumbledore but Harry's mind was filled with one terrible, hollowing thought. _There are Death Eaters at Hogwarts._

Harry thought of Malfoy and what he had been planning all year, because he had been planning _something_. He was sure that Malfoy was involved in this somehow, there could be no refuting it now. Everything that had happened up until that point in the evening seemed much less important now than the fact that Voldemort's supporters had made their way into Hogwarts. His meeting with Dumbledore, the revelation that Snape had been the one to overhear the prophecy, even the fact that the red-haired girl in the office might just be his daughter – none of that was as important as Death Eaters in the castle.

Lily's face was white with fear. She seemed frozen. He thought fleetingly of Ginny and Ron and Hermione and how he had left them the Felix Felicis and told them to keep an eye out. Did they know about the Death Eaters? Did anyone but Snape know?

Standing abruptly, Harry gripped his wand more tightly in his hand and took a step towards the office door but Dumbledore was suddenly blocking his path. He blinked and then Dumbledore's hands, one normal and one blackened and dead-looking, were resting on his shoulders.

"Harry, I need you to listen to me very carefully."

Harry nodded, not prepared to deny Dumbledore anything in that moment. He had rarely seen the Headmaster so focused and vehement.

"After tonight, I hope to explain things to you more clearly but for now you must _listen_."

The grip on Harry's shoulders tightened and he nodded more earnestly this time. "Yes, of course."

"There is a cave," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes fixed on Harry's own. "In this cave there is, I am certain, a very important object, a _locket_, do you understand?"

_A horcrux_. "Yes."

"This cave is the one Tom visited as a boy. You remember the story?"

Harry did. Mrs. Cole, from the orphanage, had said that those other two children, they had never been the same….

"I remember," he said confidently.

"If you have to, you can find it." It was not a question, but Harry nodded anyway. And then before Harry had time to realize why Dumbledore was telling him this, the Headmaster had given his shoulders one more squeeze and then rushed out of the office, his voluminous cloak sweeping out behind him.

Harry and Lily were left standing alone in the office as the last rays of the sun faded into night.

* * *

><p>Even as James stood, preparing to venture into someone else's mind, he could not keep his own thoughts in one place. He was distracted by the time turners and Lily and whether or not he would find anything to help her in Terry Boot's memory.<p>

They did not exactly cover a lot of new ground so far with their investigation; most of it had been in the report. But James could not help but be intrigued by this mysterious new individual that Terry had dredged up from some buried part of his memory. He did not know how significant this individual's presence was but he could not help feeling that something sinister had been happening. It was not every day that someone infiltrated the Department of Mysteries, much less loitered secretly around the various artifacts.

He wanted to outright ask Boot how they worked, what happened if you broke them, and if there was any way to reverse their effects. But now that he had the feeling their research could possibly be turning into a criminal investigation at any moment, he thought it best to keep quiet a little longer.

In any case, it was too late for the moment. Elaine was already standing next to Terry, her wand directed at his temple. Terry looked distinctly uncomfortable with this arrangement and James did not blame him. He certainly would not want someone else poking around in his thoughts.

"How exactly is this going to work," Terry asked, his sharp features pinched in a frown.

It was Walter who answered. "Elaine is going to be performing the charms we've developed and James is going to be the one actually viewing and navigating your memories."

Terry continued to look skeptical and his posture did not relax. Elaine looked impatient and before she could jump in James tried to explain further. "Often what happens with memory loss is that memories aren't really erased. It's more like parchment with an ink stain. You can't read what's written there any more, but it's still there."

He took a small step forward. "I'm going to be placing my wand on the other side of your head. Just try to relax."

Terry nodded, his eyes following James and he approached his side. "So, it really is a bit like legilimency, then," he asked.

"Yes," Elaine chirped in. "That's really where we got the idea. But theoretically, not only will we be able to see your memories in greater detail than with legilimency, we'll be able to uncover hidden memories as well without damaging the brain."

James glared at Elaine over Terry's head and raised his eyebrows. "Not that there's any risk of that," Elaine added quickly.

"Brilliant," Terry muttered. "Best get on with it then."

The first attempt was nothing short of abysmal as _nothing _happened at all. Elaine's eyes were shut in concentration as she silently mouthed the complex incantations. "No, that's not it," she said abruptly without opening her eyes. A moment later she was murmuring quietly to herself again. James stood very still, watching her intently, his own spell held tight in his mind and then suddenly, Elaine was gone. And so was Terry. And Walter, and Fletcher Smith. He was standing exactly where he had been a moment before, wand still in hand, but everyone else had disappeared.

The sound of shuffling papers behind him made James spin rapidly, gripping his wand and he almost called out before he realized that the man now in front of him was none other than Terry Boot. Or, to be more precise, it was a memory of him.

For a second James just stood there as he adjusted to being, in a way, inside someone else's head. He was quite sure his physical body was still standing next to Terry Boot but he certainly felt real enough right here. It did not feel like any other memory James had ever experienced. He had been in a pensieve once before but this was somehow crisper and more real than that had been. He felt certain he could walk to the other end of the Department of Mysteries, far away from this Terry Boot, and be just as solid merely because Terry remembered what was there.

He really could see layers and nuances to the surroundings that must have been stored only in Terry's subconscious. He was in a world entirely in Terry Boot's head.

Keeping half of his attention on Terry clearing up his desk James walked over to the time turners to get a closer look. They were so small, so simple, and yet the damage they could do was enormous. It was hard to believe that just one of these delicate glass objects had caused his sister to vanish.

He reached out a hand, wondering if he could touch them, but then suddenly stopped short, his hand only inches from the shelf in front of him. He could have sworn that, through the gap, he had seen someone move on the other side of the shelves. He spun and saw Terry still standing at his desk. Terry had been right. There was someone else here, someone who was taking care not to be noticed.

Moving quickly James strode around the shelves to find the culprit, not sure what he was expecting. He could see a figure in the shadows, their profile outlined in shades of blue from the light all around them. Because he did not have to worry about being seen or heard James broke easily into a jog down the thin row, his footsteps making no sound as they beat on the ground that was not really there.

He caught up to the mysterious intruder from behind and when he edged around her and saw her face it felt like someone had punched him in the stomach.

What was Pansy Parkinson, reporter for the Daily Prophet, doing in the Department of Mysteries?


	8. Of a Memory

**World Enough and Time**

**Chapter Eight – Of a Memory**

James stared at the reporter in front of him, his earlier encounter with Pansy Parkinson flooding his mind.

_"Do you really think your department will be able to retrieve his memories? We were in the same year at Hogwarts, you know, and _such_ good friends."_

Well, they certainly did not look like good friends at the moment. Pansy was obviously doing her best to avoid Terry's notice entirely. She moved stealthily behind the shelves of time turners taking care to keep her footsteps as quiet as possible. James followed her, his brow pinched in confusion as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. As he watched, Parkinson reached out a hand to grasp one of the shimmering hourglasses in front of her but her sleeve caught on the corner of the shelf and her arm jerked. Several time turners wobbled dangerously and James saw the panic in Pansy's eyes as she visibly held her breath. A moment later the delicate objects had settled without falling, but Pansy's presence was no longer a secret.

Peering around the shelves James saw Terry freeze in the act of closing his bag. He turned around from his desk and squinted in the dim blue light for the source of the noise but Pansy remained frozen and in shadow, all but invisible to the Unspeakable. Terry shook himself and turned away again.

It felt torturous to watch the scene in front of him unfold and not be able to intervene, to call out a warning, to demand to know what Pansy Parkinson was up to. James clenched his hands into fists to stop them fidgeting restlessly.

Terry swung his bag over his shoulder and, without turning around, started walking away to the exit. Pansy remained still for another second, her breathing shallow and silent, her eyes wide, and then reached out once again to snatch a time turner from the shelf. Her long painted nails glinted in the blue light like talons. With no difficulty this time Pansy succeeded in grasping the small glass object. She wrapped it gingerly in a small cloth and slid the hourglass carefully into her pocket. She smirked.

It was the same smirk he had seen her wear in his office where she asked him questions about Terry and his work and… and _Lily_.

"_And your sister, her name is Lily, isn't it? Such a pretty girl."_

Pansy brushed right past James, missing him by less than an inch, not that he was really there. Instead of following her James could only stare at the spot she had occupied a moment before, where she had _stolen a time turner_, and all he could think was that Pansy Parkinson had had something to do with his sister's disappearance. James felt his heartbeat speed up as anger started pumping through his veins. He turned quickly on the spot and hurried in the direction Pansy had gone, momentarily forgetting that he was in a memory and that this Pansy Parkinson would not be able to see or hear him. Nor could he do anything to her.

He caught up to the reporter easily and realized immediately that he had missed something. Terry was speaking.

"-are you doing here?"

He saw Terry and Pansy facing each other, all hands visible and no wands in sight. He slowed his pace as he reached them and saw nothing but confusion on Terry's face and a fake smile on Pansy's. She laughed lightly and James flinched unconsciously at the sound. Terry's hand drifted towards his pocket where James was sure his wand would be stowed.

"I was looking for you, Trevor," Pansy answered. "I wanted to—"

"You're not allowed in here, Parkinson. How did you get past security?"

Terry's hand had reached into the pocket of his robes. Again James cursed that he could only watch and do nothing.

"Well I... didn't see any security," Pansy said, her sculpted eyebrows rising incredibly high on her forehead. She slid an arm around behind her and James saw her grasp the wand that was tucked into her belt. "I didn't know. I – I need your help, Trevor."

"It's Terry," Terry told her curtly. He smoothed down his dark hair with one hand while the other remained, James was sure, clenched around his wand. James wanted to yell at him, to tell him to curse her, that _obviously_ she was up to something. He took a step closer and wished the two people in front of him were tangible. He could have easily tackled Parkinson to the ground, taken the time turner from her, and stopped her from doing whatever it was she had planned.

Pansy pursed her lips, the corners of her mouth twisting up in a simpering smile. "Well, of course, _Terry_, that's what I said."

Finally, Terry drew his wand and pointed it directly in Pansy's face. She blinked in surprise for a moment before quickly drawing her own out in front of her and aimed at the man in front of her. For a second neither of them moved at all.

"_What_ are you doing in the Department of Mysteries, Parkinson," Terry demanded, his patience gone.

"Oh I just needed something," Pansy answered lightly, apparently not bothered by the wand in her face. She surreptitiously tilted her own upward so that it was pointing at Terry's face.

"And what would that be?"

"I need you to forget that I was ever here, _Terry_."

Her tone was the harshest James had ever heard her use and he looked worriedly at Terry, who looked properly taken aback. He opened his mouth and started to flick his wrist in a wand movement but he never got the chance to finish it. With more skill than James would have thought she could possess Pansy disarmed Terry with a quick flick of her wand and the Unspeakable's eyes widened comically as he heard his only defense clattering somewhere across the room.

"Don't worry," Pansy told him, smirking, her eyes glinting like ice in the blue light that shown all around them. "You won't remember a thing." She raised her wand up to Terry's face. James stepped forward reflexively, anger and adrenaline moving him to step in front of the other man but the Pansy in the memory gave no notice of him. He was not really there.

As if from Terry's point of view, James watched as Pansy's wand was now directed right between his eyes and he stood still and unhelpful between Terry and the spell that he knew was coming. He saw Pansy's smirk widen, saw her tilt her chin upward, and heard her say one word.

"_Obliviate._"

* * *

><p>Teddy and Albus were in the kitchen, sitting near the fireplace as had become habit, waiting for news that was unlikely to come.<p>

The only sound in the Potter's kitchen was the restless tapping of Al's foot on the hard stone floor, a steady rhythm but one that was beginning to grate on Teddy's nerves. He sat slouched in his seat, his arms folded across his chest and his head back, staring into space, waiting for an epiphany.

The two young wizards had been sitting in the kitchen for a few hours now, not moving, not talking, just sitting. Teddy's stiff muscles began to protest the wooden chair he was currently reclined in and he sat up straighter, raising an arm to run a hand through his straggly brown hair. He had not been able to morph at all lately, not even the color of his eyes, and the shade of his hair was beginning to irritate him.

Everything irritated him lately.

"Albus, would you stop that incessant _tapping_," he ground out, making eye contact with the young man across the table.

"Sorry," Al said, clearly not sorry at all and Teddy suppressed a sigh of irritation before looking away.

They were the only two in the large house, as was common the past few days. James and Harry had gone back to work and Ginny, who did much of her work from home, was too anxious to spend time in the house and spent hours over at Ron and Hermione's. So that left Teddy and Albus and while Teddy was glad to have company, Al's presence had begun to wear on his patience.

A few minutes of silence passed and then Al started tapping his foot again, his chin resting on his hand, his eyes staring off at nothing. Teddy pressed his hands to his face in frustration.

"Al-"

"_Sorry_," Al said, more insistent this time but no more sincere.

"What's got you so restless anyway? Besides the obvious I mean," Teddy added. He held a vague hope that conversation would siphon out some of his frustration.

Al shifted his weight restlessly. "It's just that… she had to be out to get the Map back," he insisted for what must have been the hundredth time. "It was found along with the time turner."

Teddy refrained from commenting and merely raised his eyebrows, waiting for Al to continue.

"McGonagall said they found the Map near the Great Hall, but _what_ would it have been doing there – what would _Lily_ have been doing there – when it's nowhere near Filch's office _or_ Gryffindor Tower?

Teddy scratched absently at his chin and considered this. "She could have been heading down to the kitchens," he suggested.

"There are faster ways to the kitchens from Filch's office," Al refuted immediately. And as a former owner of the Map himself, Teddy knew he was correct.

They stared at each other for a long moment and Teddy waited, sure he knew what Albus was getting at but wanting to hear him say it. Both he and Albus had leaned forward, eager to be talking about anything that might have the slightest chance of helping Lily. Even if they had had this conversation before it felt better than doing nothing at all.

"She may have been up to something other than getting the Map back," Al said quietly.

Teddy nodded. "But what?"

Albus scowled. "Well we don't know, do we," he snapped, his posture slumping. "Just we haven't known the last fifty times we've had this conversation. Fat lot of good that does us."

"It's _something_," Teddy insisted, but the brief spark of energy had left him even quicker than it had come. They truly did know nothing about the night Lily disappeared.

"It's nothing, and you know it," Al grumbled, his gaze falling to the cold and empty grate of the kitchen fireplace.

"There's no reason to get snippy with me," Teddy said, "I'm only trying to help."

"Well, you're not helping," Al bit out, turning to glare at Teddy.

"Well I'm _trying_!"

Teddy nearly shouted the last word, his anger finally showing, and his hair flared to a dark red.

Al's wide-eyed expression would have been comical had Teddy not been so irritated and distracted by his own surprise. Teddy fingered his hair absently and the vivid red muted to a more subtle shade.

He decided to change the subject.

"Heard from Rose or Hugo lately?"

Al glared at the table. "I sent them an owl yesterday," he said glumly. "They wish they were here, helping, but I told them not to worry, we weren't doing anything useful anyway. Well," he added as an afterthought, "_I'm _not. James and Dad might be faring a little better at the Ministry."

"Hermione wouldn't pull them out of school," Teddy said with the ghost of a smile. It was a weak attempt to cheer Albus up but it made him feel better to try. Al did not smile, but continued to stare at the wooden table between them as if it had personally wronged him somehow.

"Where do you think Lily is," he asked quietly.

Teddy thought for a moment, not sure how to answer without upsetting either of them further. He tried to recall any details he had gathered of the night Lily had disappeared to try and figure out where or _when_ she could have gone. They had all been working so hard trying to figure out when she had disappeared to but maybe… maybe that was not what they should have been focusing on.

"I'm not sure we need to know where she _is_," Teddy said slowly. Al looked up at him, his features tight and perplexed. "Maybe we just need to find out where she _was_ when she disappeared and –"

Albus finished the dangerous thought for him. "And stop it from ever happening in the first place."

* * *

><p>"There are Death Eaters <em>here<em>, at _Hogwarts_?" Lily asked the question again, her voice quiet but clear. Although she knew it to be true she was having trouble wrapping her mind around the idea of Voldemort's supporters infiltrating the school. She knew, of course, about the Battle of Hogwarts, but that was not for at least another year. She stared at Harry, not sure what she wanted him to say, just knowing that she wished he would say _something_.

With a conflicted expression on his face Harry took a step towards the office door, stopped, turned to her, and said, "Yes. They're here."

Lily collapsed back onto the couch behind her and took a deep, steadying breath as she sank into the velvety cushions. She was very aware of the feel of the sofa beneath her hands, of the feel of her feet in her shoes, of the hair brushing against her cheek. Everything around her seemed stark and real and in sharp contrast to the seemingly unreal battle that could be raging somewhere below them, professors and dark wizards dueling in her beloved school.

_But this is war_, she thought and her skin crawled. It felt like something large and hairy had jumped down her throat and was trying to devour her from the inside out. Suddenly, her time travel situation did not seem so dire anymore. Someone might be _dying_ floors below as she sat there in Albus Dumbledore's office. She felt like crying but her eyes were dry.

She looked up as Harry took another step towards the door, his wand gripped tightly in his fist. His eyes darted between her and the exit and Lily knew he was desperate to rush into the commotion that must be going on down below. But something was stopping him.

"How are you here," he whispered, his expression tortured. Again he turned to leave but stopped short and ran a shaky hand through his hair. Lily watched him, and felt that for the first time since she had arrived here he was _really_ looking at her.

"You believe me?"

Harry grimaced, his posture stiff, his jaw clenched. He glanced at the door once and ran his hand through his hair again, rubbing absently at the back of his neck.

"No," he said. "I don't know. Maybe. Dumbledore believes you."

"Well, Dumbledore's right," Lily said reluctantly. "As much as I wish it wasn't true."

Despite all of the dangers that it posed Lily very much wanted Harry to believe her. She had been so lonely during her time in the past so far and to have another friendly face, _her dad_, in any form was now something she craved. Harry continued to stare at her as if he had never seen anything like her and Lily stared back with flushed cheeks and her heart pounding wildly in her chest.

When Harry did not speak, Lily did. She knew he would run out that door at any second but she did not wanting him to leave just yet. "I don't know how I got here," she said. Harry remained standing where he was but there was definitely something in his stance that suggested he was ready to bolt. "I just woke up here, in the Hospital Wing."

Harry frowned skeptically and asked, sarcasm heavy in his voice, "You don't remember traveling back in time?"

Lily lifted her chin a little and looked him straight in the eye. "No," she said stiffly, " I _don't_ remember. Maybe if I did I wouldn't be stuck here."

"What, forever?"

Lily took a shaky breath. "I hope not," she whispered.

"That doesn't – you're not – " Harry let out a short, frustrated sigh. "I don't believe you. I _can't_. It's—"

He stopped abruptly and just stared at her, at her messy, Weasley hair, her brown eyes, the freckles smattered across her nose and cheeks. For a moment his certainly seemed to falter and he swallowed hard.

"Prove you are who you say you are. Tell me something – something only –only you and I would know."

His voice was a little strangled at the end of his sentence and Lily supposed it must have been strange for him to speak as though they knew each other, as though he had a daughter.

"I really can't tell you anything," she said reluctantly and he snorted. "_Really_. It could ruin everything. Terrible things happen to wizards who meddle with time!"

For some reason Harry's posture visibly stiffened when she said this but she brushed it off. Lily pulled her feet up onto the couch and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"How could it be worse than you being here at all," Harry asked brashly. "What more is there to lose?"

"Only everything I know," Lily answered hotly, his words surprisingly hurtful. She gripped her shins more tightly. "My _family_. My parents, my brothers, my friends – my whole life!"

Lily bit her lip to keep from saying anything more but it did not stop her from thinking that she may have already lost all of those things. Her stomach clenched painfully and she blinked back the prickling that had started to form behind her eyes. This was not going at all well. She did not want to fight with him, she just wanted him to believe her. Harry was watching her with wide eyes, his grip on his wand slackened, his arms hanging at his sides. "Brothers," he said breathlessly. "You have brothers?"

Lily swallowed and nodded, knowing that there was probably no point in denying anything at this point. She kept her mouth firmly shut to keep from spilling anything else about herself and Harry seemed to be at a loss for words.

"You – they – what are they – what are their names?"

Lily's heart ached at the sudden change in his tone. It was no longer curt and sarcastic, but purely disbelieving, as though he could not imagine anything so wonderful as having a family. He turned to face her fully and Lily wondered if he had forgotten entirely that there were Death Eaters in the castle.

"I shouldn't-" she started glumly but cut herself off at the expression on Harry's face. It was sad and conflicted and she could not look away. She wanted so desperately for him to believe her, for him to be on her side that she told herself it was too late to undo the damage that had already been done and what could it hurt now to tell him a little more.

"James is the oldest," she said, fully aware that she now had Harry's full attention. He sank sideways into the chair next to him, his eyes never leaving her face. Lily felt she was doing something terribly wrong but could not stop herself now. She was very keenly aware of all the portraits around them, feigning sleep. "And Al is two years older than me. Oh, and Teddy's practically family too."

Harry's expression was nearly heartbreaking and Lily began to feel cruel. She was dangling a future out in front of him, this sixteen-year-old boy with a dark wizard and dark future ahead of him – just enough to see but not enough to hold onto. Harry opened his mouth to speak, closed it again, and then looked away. Lily did not know what to do.

In the heavy silence a faint scream echoed up from somewhere below them in the castle and the two of them, in unison, looked down at the floor and then at each other. Lily knew her face must be white with renewed fear.

"I can't tell you any more," she whispered, knowing he was going to leave anyway.

"I know," Harry said. He stared at her face for a moment longer before standing abruptly. He took a slow, measured step backwards, turned, and, at the sound of another scream he hurried out of the office just like Dumbledore had moments before. Lily sat alone in the dark office, her eyes locked on the space Harry had occupied a moment before.

Suddenly, with a flash of courage, Lily stood from the sofa, her limbs awkward and uncooperative but her mind determined. She took a deep, steadying breath and rushed after Harry and into a danger that she had only ever heard about in stories – a danger that would soon be her reality but would feel like a nightmare.

* * *

><p>The memory world around him seemed to stutter and James watched as his surroundings clouded over in swirls of black fog. He tried to hold onto the memory, to watch as Pansy dragged an unresisting Terry Boot away. He thought he could see the red light of a stunner before the fog enveloped him entirely. He closed his eyes and stood very still, waiting, thinking.<p>

Pansy Parkinson had entered the Department of Mysteries, stolen a time turner, and obliviated an Unspeakable before, presumably, thoroughly stunning him and hiding him away to be found, dazed and confused, a few days later. And all this just before Lily had mysteriously disappeared leaving nothing behind but shattered glass and the shimmering sand that had once taken the form of a time turner.

When James opened his eyes he was no longer surrounded by darkness but was once again standing next to Terry Boot. Elaine, Walter, and Fletcher Smith were there as well. He lost his balance slightly at the disorienting change and at the same moment Terry jerked back into consciousness where he sat.

"Well," Elaine asked eagerly, looking between James and Terry. "Did it work?"

James fell subject to the hopeful gazes of Elaine and Walter but one look at Terry's face told him something had gone wrong. Terry looked neither happy to have his memory back nor angry that he had been attacked by Pansy Parkinson. In fact, he did not seem to realize anything had happened at all.

"Well, I saw everything," James began slowly in answer to Elaine's and Walter's stares. "Terry?"

Terry looked at the charms workers helplessly. "I'm supposed to remember now? I don't remember any more than I did before."

James watched the eager smile dissolve from Elaine's face. Her shoulders slumped and she gazed dejectedly at Terry, silently begging him to remember, to tell them that they had succeeded.

"But you saw how Terry lost his memory," Walter asked James. "How did it happen?"

James hesitated for a moment, looking around at them all as they stared at him, waiting for an answer. "You were right," he said, speaking directly to Terry. "There was someone else there with you. It was Pansy Parkinson. She obliviated you."

There was a short, shocked silence after James revealed this. Terry looked shocked and furious but it was Elaine who spoke. "_Parkinson?_ That reporter woman from the _Daily Prophet_?"

"The very same," James said and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. He felt exhausted but at the same time alert and focused by a fury coursing through him as he pictured Pansy slipping the time turner into her pocket.

"Anything else," Fletcher asked, catching sight of James's dark expression and narrowing his eyes. "She was just there and obliviated Boot because she felt like it, is that it?"

James took a step back at his accusatory tone, but he did not hesitate in answering. "That's all I saw," he said, glaring at Fletcher.

The two of them had a silent standoff, staring each other down. James was relieved when Walter next spoke. "Well, I'm sorry we weren't able to get you your memories, Mr. Boot. But, progress is progress," he said cheerfully enough. "We will keep trying."

Terry did not appear overly thrilled as this prospect. He was not looking at any of them but anxiously smoothing down his dark hair. "What are you going to do about Parkinson," he asked quietly.

No one had an answer for that. James glanced around at his colleagues who shrugged and shook their heads. He turned back to Terry and found the other man watching him. "We'll... get back to you on that one," he said, aware how terrible it sounded. "We can't prove anything yet," he added.

"I suppose we should be going," Elaine said, still sounding disappointed. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Boot."

And with that Fletcher swept in front of them and began leading them out of the department. James looked back over his shoulder to see Terry still sitting in the same spot, rubbing at his temples and glancing suspiciously all around him.

_Terry Boot may not remember what happened here_, he thought, _but I do._

And he intended to use what he had learned to help Lily as soon as possible.

When they finally arrived back at the Ministry atrium, their blindfolds removed for the second time, there were a few reporters there who flocked at the sight of them emerging from the Department of Mysteries. Not nearly so many as in the morning were present now, and Pansy Parkinson was definitely not among them, but they were still a definite annoyance, and one James certainly did not have time for.

Leaning forward James whispered some vague excuse in Elaine's ear and made his way quickly to the lifts a few yards away. James entered the nearest vacant lift, pounded the button for the Auror division a few times and tapped his foot impatiently.

The lift made a loud grinding noise as it started to move and James fidgeted nervously where he stood, his mind racing. When the doors finally opened again he was out into the corridor before the cool female voice could even announce his arrival. He made his way through the familiar maze of cubicles, waving out of habit as a few Aurors called out to him in greeting. Very quickly he reached his destination: the office bearing the title Harry Potter, Head Auror, Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He did not bother knocking.

At the sound of the door opening he saw his father, seated at his desk, look up in annoyance which turned to concern when he saw James enter.

"James, what…?" He half stood out of his seat as James rushed forward, his recent discovery tumbling from his lips.

"Dad, Pansy Parkinson stole a time turner from the Department of Mysteries."

* * *

><p>Harry Potter's office was, by no means, a small space. It was large, comfortable, and had two windows that showed, on most days, a brilliant blue sky. At the moment however it felt as small and cramped as the cupboard under the stairs.<p>

But for being filled with so many people the office was almost deathly quiet as its occupants remained still and processed the new information they had just received. Harry himself leaned against the front of his desk, his arms crossed against his chest and his head tilted forward. Ginny stood next to him, one hand resting on his arm and the other nervously pulling at her sleeve.

Ron and Hermione were to Harry's left, Hermione standing pin straight, her brow pinched in deep thought and Ron leaning on the bookcase behind them in a stance similar to Harry's. James sat in one of the spare chairs facing Harry's desk, Albus in the other, and Teddy stood by the door, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"Well, we always knew Parkinson was no good," Ron said bitterly, breaking the silence. "Now we know she was stealing time turners."

"But if she got what she wanted, why is she still sniffing around the Ministry for information," James asked. Harry had been wondering the same thing.

"She's been sniffing around the Ministry," Ron asked, his eyebrows raised. "You mean since this happened?"

James grimaced and shifted his weight in his chair. "Believe me, she's been around all day, especially in our department. She's practically been interrogating us about our newest project – memory reversal – the one we're testing on Terry Boot."

"She didn't want you to identify her," Harry said quietly. "She didn't want you to retrieve his memories and find out what she did."

"Well if she's trying to cover her tracks she's doing a poor job," Ginny said, looking morbidly pleased, "calling all this attention to herself."

"But you saw Terry Boot's memories. You said you saw her," Al burst in loudly. He turned to Harry, gesturing to the door. "We know she did it, why don't you bring her in, Dad?"

Harry opened his mouth to respond that he most certainly intended to but Hermione was shaking her head. "James, you said Terry still didn't remember anything incriminating, is that right?" James nodded and Hermione continued. "Then all we have is your word, and while we all believe you, that will never be enough to convict anyone. And now that you've told Terry what you saw, she could claim that you planted that story there. Even if he ever does remember on his own, Parkinson could easily make the claim that you made it all up."

"I can still bring her in for questioning," Harry said stubbornly, "And get _something_ out of her." He lifted one hand to rub at his jaw. There was stubble there, a few days old now, making him appear even more unkempt than usual.

"Even if we get her to admit to stealing the time turner, how do we get her to admit to Lily's disappearance as well," Ginny put in, her grip on Harry's arm tightening ever so slightly when she said Lily's name.

No one had an answer for this, but Harry did have a few possibilities floating around half-formed in his mind. He was so relieved to have _any_ information to go on that any obstacles in their path to getting Lily back seemed smaller than they had before. This information _had_ to be useful, important, this was somehow the key they had been looking for, he just knew it.

Teddy stepped away from the wall by the door and towards the center of the room. He brushed his hair – a dull red – out of his face and looked around at them all before speaking.

"If we can get Pansy to confess to being at Hogwarts with the time turner the night that Lily disappeared then we might just be able to solve everything."

Harry did not like the dangerous gleam that had appeared in Teddy's eyes – he had seen it too many times before in those of the people he arrested. Ginny's grip on his arm squeezed again and he knew that she had seen it too. He straightened slightly where he stood.

"Teddy-" he started, but the look on his godson's face made him stop. Teddy was not going to be deterred until he at least had the chance to speak his mind. He took another step forward, his full height daunting despite his thin frame. For some reason, he glanced at Albus before he spoke again.

"If we know when and where it happened, we can go back and change it," he said. Teddy looked Harry directly in the eyes and Harry stared right back, his expression blank. "Lily will never have been gone."

Hermione gasped and moved toward Teddy looking scandalized. "Terrible things happen to wizards who meddle with time, Teddy!" She glanced at Harry, almost apologetically before turning back to Teddy. "You don't know—"

"Terrible things have already happened," Teddy cut her off loudly. Harry watched the other occupants of the office flinch as his harsh tone. "Lily's _gone_ and, let's face it, we haven't come up with any other options! It's this or nothing at all!"

Harry swallowed hard, considering, and looked around the room. Albus was the only one who did not seem surprised by Teddy's suggestion and he suspected they had been talking about it before. Ron looked hesitant and kept glancing between Teddy and his wife. Hermione nearly had tears in her eyes.

"You can't just go back and change whatever you want," she insisted. She turned to Harry and now tears did fall from her eyes. "I want Lily back too," she insisted earnestly, "and I am doing _everything_ I can to figure out how to do that but if wizards just went back and changed whatever they pleased it could jeopardize our very existence!"

Harry felt torn in two. He and Hermione had both experienced time travel. They probably understood it better than anyone else in the room and he knew that she was right. Everyone in the room was now staring at him and he took a long shaky breath to try and clear his head. Going back to save Lily could put the rest of his family in danger. But he could think of no alternative and letting his daughter go would destroy him. He turned to Ginny and found her staring back at him with a blazing look in her eyes and he knew he had no choice.

Teddy was right. It was this or nothing at all.


	9. War Time

**World Enough and Time – Chapter Nine**

**War Time**

Harry hated her.

He had not hated someone in a very long time, not since Voldemort, and it was a terrible feeling – like his insides where rotting. But he could not help himself, nor did he try to stop. He hated the woman sitting in front of him because she had taken his daughter away from him.

For a few minutes Harry and Pansy Parkinson merely stared at each other, Harry's gaze cold and determined. Pansy was doing quite a good job of looking unconcerned under such an intimidating glare but Harry could tell that it was taking some effort. Her expression was stoically blank but the rest of her appearance was disheveled. It was a small comfort that the Aurors who had brought her in had taken no extra care to be courteous with her.

Currently the two of them occupied one of the interrogation rooms in the lower levels of the Ministry. This section of the Ministry was unused for the most part and rarely visited. Harry had shooed the Aurors away after Pansy was brought in telling them it was business of a very secretive and highly sensitive nature. They had not questioned him, but it was only a matter of time before the true nature of this meeting came to light.

Pansy was seated behind a coarse wooden table, her long fingernails tapping against the surface. Harry stood by the door, his arms crossed against his chest, one of his hands clenched tightly around a small glass vial.

As Harry stared at the woman seated across the room he could not help picturing her seventeen-year-old self screaming to the Great Hall to hand him over to Voldemort and save themselves. She would have thrown him to his certain death to save her own life without a second thought. She may have done the same to Lily - Lily, who could be anywhere, in danger, hurting, or worse.

And it was all Pansy Parkinson's fault.

Harry was determined to find out just how exactly his daughter had disappeared and he was prepared to use almost any means of attaining that information. He clenched the vial more tightly in his fist.

What he _did_ know was that it had been a Monday night, after curfew, in the beginning of April when Lily Luna Potter had gone missing from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She had left behind the shattered remains of a time turner and a deceptive old bit of parchment. And the only person in the whole world who knew anything more about it was sitting in this room, her pug-like face ugly in the dim light.

Harry knew all of this, but he had yet to prove it. He stood in the barren room, silent, bracing himself. It was time to act and he would not back down now.

With a few short steps Harry approached the table and set the vial down on the wood, his eyes never leaving Pansy's face. He saw her thin eyebrows rise in surprise. Her fingers stilled their tapping and she sat up straighter in the stiff wooden chair she had been provided.

"Veritaserum," she observed with another quirk of her eyebrows.

Harry nodded.

"You administer that serum and you'll lose your job, Potter," she sneered at Harry, a smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth. Still, Harry said nothing.

"It's _illegal_," Parkinson continued, as though she were speaking to a small child. "You wouldn't want to do something _illegal_ would you? Your golden reputation, your good name, tarnished and disgraced the moment that liquid drips down my throat."

She leaned back in her chair, apparently satisfied with herself and feeling like she had beaten him at something. The ugly expression on her face made Harry's stomach churn unpleasantly.

When Harry made no immediate move toward the vial Pansy raised her chin triumphantly but her expression froze when he suddenly snatched up the veritaserum and moved around the table towards her.

Parkinson swallowed visibly, her composure faltering.

"You wouldn't dare," she said waspishly.

Harry smiled dangerously. "You have no idea what I would do for my family."

"It's your future," Parksinson snapped back, leaning away from Harry.

"No," Harry said, "It's Lily's."

* * *

><p>Lily had not expected the <em>noise<em>.

Whenever she had pictured battle from the stories her parents told about the war or from the History of Magic lectures she occasionally listened to, Lily thought of the flashes of spells flying in every direction, a dizzying speed of events, and a perpetual adrenaline rush. All of these _were_ present at the moment but what she had never anticipated the noise.

And now, as she crouched behind a large stone statue of a wizard with an eagle perched on his shoulder, her wand clutched tightly in her sweaty hand, a cacophony flew at her from every side. Shouts of curses, screams of triumph or pain, the shatter of misplaced spell fire on the stone walls of the castle all echoed strangely around her, filling her head to the point where Lily thought she would never hear anything else again.

She had rushed after Harry from the safety of Dumbledore's office into certain peril, unprepared and unqualified for what she would meet. She had watched as Harry rushed in without pause to fight alongside his professors and friends against terrifying figures robed all in black and masked. It was the first time Lily had ever seen a Death Eater.

Lily leaned her weight against the wall beside her as her heart pounded desperately and her head spun from the clamor. Her forehead was sweaty and her hair was even messier than usual, an orange cloud strung out in every direction. As she sat trying to steady her nerves a jet of red light shot past her, skimming the shelter of the statue and causing chunks of stone to fly off in every direction. Lily threw her arms up to cover her face and curled more tightly into herself.

_Some Gryffindor you are_, she thought acidly but could not bring herself to move. Her legs were not working. Nothing was.

However she was left with little choice but to move when a masked face appeared around the statue, it's hollow eyes fixed on her. Lily screamed and threw her wand up but the Death Eater was faster. Before Lily knew what was happening she was flying away from her hiding place and into the far wall. Pain rippled through her side and she screamed again.

From the floor where she fell Lily raised her wand blindly and shouted the first spell that came to her mind.

"_Diffindo!_"

She heard a yell and when her eyes focused again she saw her attacker clutching his wand arm in pain, blood draining from a large slice down the middle. Lily staggered to her feet and ran past the man, hoping to get far enough away from any spells he might cast with an injured arm but before she was clear a trip jinx found her and she fell to the floor hard. The fall knocked the wind out of her and for a moment she could not move, could not make a sound.

Coughing, Lily pushed herself up, her arms shaking, and then a hand gripped her hair and hauled her roughly to her feet. She struggled and stumbled and tried to call for help but her voice simply could not compete with the dissonance that surrounded her.

"_Stup – _" she began but a large hand gripped her wrist and the curse died in her throat as she whimpered in pain. The Death Eater's grip was strong and Lily could feel her bones protesting the pressure he exerted on them. Before she could do anything a flash of red consumed Lily's vision and then her attacker was on the ground, unconscious.

Looking desperately in every direction, Lily noted with a rush of relief that members of the famed Order of the Phoenix had arrived. There were Teddy's parents – Lily recognized them from pictures – and a tall, bald black man Lily knew to be Kingsley Shacklebolt. There were at least a few members of her family there was well. A quick survey of the scene told her that it had been her Uncle Bill that had saved her. Lily marveled at his young, whole face, vacant of scars.

Before she could rush over to him he was already fighting another Death Eater. This one did not where a mask but when she saw his face Lily wished that he had. He was filthy and ragged, his hair long and matted, his sharp teeth bared like an animal and Lily felt sick as she noticed blood dripping from his mouth.

Lily watched in horror as the feral man got the better of Bill and flew at him, his yellow and pointed fingernails slashing into her uncle's flesh as his teeth ripped at his face. Bill screamed and so did Lily; she screamed louder than she had in her entire life and wished for nothing else than for the horrible vision in front of her to stop.

Her wand arm flew up and she shouted, "_STUPEFY!_"

The power of the spell caused Bill's attacker to be thrown from his prey and he landed across the hall in a heap. Bill was not moving.

_So much blood_, Lily could not help thinking, the only coherent thing to register.

As she stared at Bill's still form a jet of orange light missed her by inches and Lily was jolted into action. She gripped her wand and tried to run in any direction but duelers blocked her path at every turn as they darted this way and that. Lily saw Ron, Hermione, and Neville were on the far side of where Bill lay and Ginny was to Lily's right fighting alongside Tonks.

Lily made only a few steps progress when she fell to the ground as a spell sliced her side. She had been stationary for too long, an easy target. Her hands went to her side and she felt blood there and gasped instinctively. It was moderately deep and extremely painful but not debilitating. Twisting to find her attacker, Lily saw another masked Death Eater, indistinguishable from his allies, striding towards her with his wand trained on her. Lily could not see through the mask but she had the distinct impression that the man was smiling. She gripped her wand, her own blood smearing on the wood, and tried in vain to utter a curse – she could not think of a single spell to use. She could not even stand.

Suddenly a figure darted forward and blocked Lily's view of the approaching Death Eater. The new arrival fired a curse and its target fell in a heap as it struck. Her rescuer then spun towards her. His hands gripped her arms and pulled her to her feet. She was unsteady but the constant flow of adrenaline kept her upright.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked frantically and Lily stood in shock. _Harry_ had saved her.

She was too focused on the concern in Harry's eyes to respond with words so she nodded. It had been so long since someone had looked at her that way – so concerned about her well-being – much longer since she had seen that look on her father's face, even if it was significantly younger at the moment. Before she could say anything Harry turned and continued firing off curses faster than Lily had ever seen. He did not leave her side.

Emboldened by Harry's presence, Lily began firing off spells of her own and the injury at her side was momentarily forgotten.

"_Stupefy!_"

"_Reducto!_"

"_Incendio!_"

To Lily's left a Death Eater's robes burst into brilliant flames from Harry's spell and she squinted reflexively at the sudden brightness. When the panicked man had extinguished the flames that were rapidly devouring his robes the hall seemed dim in comparision. That changed quickly however when a sickly green from the window illuminated the space.

Something rippled through the crowd of people in the hall as they were bathed in the green light. There was a short hush, instantaneous, and then a new commotion broke out. This was not the intensity of battle that had been palpable before; this was shock, panic.

"The Dark Mark!" someone was shouting, "It's the Dark Mark!"

* * *

><p>"Do you know who I am?"<p>

"Yes, you're Harry Potter," came the dull, lifeless response.

"And what is your name?"

"Pansy Parkinson."

Harry was now sitting, leaning forward over the table where his arms were crossed in front of him. Across the table Parkinson sat in the same chair but she no longer wore the smug expression she had earlier. Rather, a vacant, glazed look was on her face, her eyes glassy and unfocused. Her posture was suffering as well; she was slumped in her seat, her shoulders drooping, arms dangling at her sides. Harry was never comfortable seeing people in this helpless condition but he had no choice.

Pansy had not had a chance to struggle. Harry had immobilized her before administering the veritaserum and all she could do was glare at him as she was forced to swallow the potion. He had done the same thing with other prisoners in the past, the only difference being that those witches and wizards had been under trial and it had been legal.

And now that Pansy was in no position to retaliate he could finally find out what had happened to Lily. Harry had broken countless rules in his life, but few as serious as this. While he did not feel any guilt over his actions there was a twinge of worry over being caught. But the thought of seeing Lily's face again drove this feeling into a deep, dark part of Harry's brain and buried it there.

"Have you ever entered the Department of Mysteries without proper authorization?"

His questions would have to build up to the incident. He could not just jump in demanding to know what had happened to his daughter – too much of a shock or too much confusion and the veritaserum-infected mind would shut down. Plus, the more they knew for certain, the better.

"Yes," was Pansy's flat reply, and Harry fought a shiver at the deadened sound of her voice.

"What day did you go there?"

"April seventh," she answered immediately.

"Did you steal a time turner while you were there?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

There was a pause and Harry waited with bated breath. He leaned forward slightly.

"To travel back in time," Pansy said.

Harry sighed and fought down his irritation. He knew that he could not be too complex with his questions but it felt as though, despite the debilitating effects of the truth serum, Pansy was being deliberately short with him.

"How far back did you intend to go?"

"Twenty four years."

_Twenty-four years_, Harry thought. He quickly did the math and approximated it to what would have been his and Pansy's seventh year at Hogwarts, just before Voldemort fell. As another piece fell into place, Harry became more eager to know how Lily fit into this mess Parkinso had created.

"Have you been to Hogwarts in the last few weeks?"

"Yes," Pansy replied without hesitation.

"Were you there with the time turner," Harry asked quickly. A brief silence followed.

"Yes."

Harry grit his teeth, trying to control his temper that was threatening its way to the surface. "Why were you at Hogwarts?"

"Because it's much easier to infiltrate the school now."

_As opposed to twenty-four years ago when Voldemort was still at large,_ Harry thought.

His voice caught in his throat at the next question. "Did you intend to see Lily?"

There was another pause and Pansy's brow creased very slightly. "My daughter," Harry snapped impatiently, "did you intend to see her?"

"No."

"And why did you want to go back to Hogwarts twenty-four years ago?"

"To make sure you died," Parkinson responded, her voice still lacking any inflection, but her words were chilling all the same.

Harry shuddered, suddenly even more disgusted with the woman across from him and he had not thought that possible. Temporarily brushing aside the fact that she was, essentially, plotting his murder, he was extremely troubled by the fact that Lily's disappearance had been an _accident_. Pansy had only entered the school so that she would end up there after using the time turner. Lily just happened to be out after curfew and got mixed up in this whole ordeal.

Harry ran his hands anxiously through his already messy hair. _An accident_.

"What did you do to my daughter," Harry whispered desperately, rubbing the back of his neck and unable to look at Parkinson.

"I made her forget me," Pansy answered evenly.

"Like you made Terry Boot forget," Harry said, more to himself than to Parkinson but she answered anyway.

"Yes."

Having heard quite enough, Harry stood abruptly and left Pansy Parkinson behind in the stark room, the large, polished wooden door closing with a satisfying slam behind him. He would have until the effects of the veritaserum wore off and then it was only a matter of time before the Aurors, his own department, came looking for him.

Harry hurried to the atrium, his footsteps pounding on the stone floors. He had very little time left to get his hands on a time turner.

* * *

><p>Lily knew two things about the Dark Mark hanging in the sky – it meant death, and it meant Voldemort.<p>

As Lily stared out one of the large windows in the vast corridor she could just see the head of a glowing green snake. Silhouetted in the sickly green a dark form fell from the sky, plummeting quickly but gracefully to the ground. It was only visible for a second but as Lily watched, her mouth open in shock, her hand limp around her wand at her side, she registered that the form had been a body. And she knew that if they had not been dead when they began to fall, they surely would be when they collided with the ground below.

Harry was still beside her, dueling with two Death Eaters, but Lily rushed from his side to the window, dodging curses that were flying from the cloaked, masked wizards with renewed vigor. The Dark mark seemed to have galvanized them and they were fighting more fiercely than before with new confidence. As Lily ran, ducking and twisting awkwardly, her side burning in pain, she passed a staircase that led to the Astronomy Tower. She had been there just hours before, skipping Potions, and now Death Eaters were pouring from that staircase, surrounding Lily. But they were not firing off spells or even paying her any attention at all.

One Death Eater, burlier than the others, laughed harshly and shouted, "_Albus Dumbledore is DEAD!_"

Lily fiercely darted around them and sprinted the rest of the way to the window. She tried to block out the scream of triumph that erupted from the Death Eaters but it echoed in the stone hall, heavy, thick and terrible.

When Lily finally reached her destination she leaned forward out into the open air to gaze down at the ground below. Just visible was a dark shapeless form with a white beard that was shining dimly in the light from the Dark Mark and the rising moon.

Lily's head spun and she felt suddenly dizzy from the height. She pulled away from the window and her legs collapsed beneath her. Her eyes stared ahead of her where bright spells still shot back and forth between duelers but all she saw was the image Dumbledore's limp body falling from the Astronomy Tower above.

Over all the other commotion an especially loud shout brought Lily's attention back to the chaos around her.

"_IT'S OVER!_" Snape yelled as he ran away from the battle and down the hall. Death Eaters began throwing their final curses before following. Lily knew from her father's stories that Severus Snape had just killed Albus Dumbledore.

But had it really happened like this?

_This can't be right_, she thought stubbornly. Lily had always pictured Albus Dumbledore's death to be dignified, planned and executed to his will, but she could see nothing orderly about any of this. She was suddenly furious with Snape, the _coward_, throwing Dumbledore from the Astronomy Tower and fleeing.

_He was one of the bravest men I ever knew_, her father would say. But Lily could see no courage in the hastily retreating Potions Master.

She watched him go, Death Eaters following in his wake, and then she saw Harry sprinting after Snape, faster than any of the masked figures, and Lily tried to stand, to run after them, but gave it up when pain throbbed at her side. She was desperate that Harry not go and she screamed, "WAIT! _WAIT!_" but a second later Snape and Harry were gone, the Death Eaters following behind.

Lily leaned against the wall beneath the window for support and the hall quieted as only students, professors, and Order members remained. Lily felt tears prickling at her eyes and she pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them close to her. She had never been so terrified in her entire life. The adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins a moment before was rapidly leaving her and her side where she had been injured was still bleeding and more painful than ever.

She leaned her head forward onto her knees and squeezed her eyes shut, tears leaking out of them.

Most of the voices in the hall were quiet, concerned, but an anguished cry broke out and Lily looked up in alarm, her hand gripping her wand, her vision blurred by tears. She wiped them away roughly with her free hand and saw Ginny crying out as she saw her fallen brother. Bill still had not moved from where he had collapsed. Her heart sped up rapidly, her chest aching from the effort of it.

_He can't be dead_, she thought frantically. _I know him, he can't be dead_. She thought about her Aunt Fleur and about their children.

"He's still alive, Ginny. We need to get him to the Hospital Wing," Ron said and relief flooded her. She could not stand, could not rush over to help. She did know if anyone else in the hall was even aware of her presence. Ron and Ginny watched anxiously as Professor Sprout hurried over and levitated Bill's unconscious form onto a conjured stretcher. Lily looked on as almost everyone headed in the direction of the Hospital Wing and she was now almost entirely alone.

Only Professor McGonagall remained and she was walking briskly in Lily's direction. She stared up as her future Headmistress approached, tears still leaking from her eyes. She had never seen Minerva McGonagall so disheveled before. Her hair was free of its usual neat and tidy bun and scratches marred her stern face. When McGonagall reached her she looked down at Lily with obvious concern and Lily looked back.

"I think you had better head to the Hospital Wing as well, Ms. Potter," she said quietly and Lily nodded. She stood awkwardly, her limbs shaking and protesting, one hand on the searing wound at her side. McGonagall waited patiently and when Lily had made it to her feet the two of them left of the Hospital Wing in the wake of Lily's future family.

The walk to the Hospital Wing was long and silent and when the pair of professor and student reached the tall wooden doors they entered to find the room well occupied and somber.

At the far end of the ward were assorted members of the Weasley family, Teddy's parents, Harry, who must have returned from the grounds and whose hand held tightly to Ginny's, Hermione, and Madame Pomfrey. They surrounded a bed where Lily could barely see Bill's mangled and bloody face between the crowding bodies.

McGonagall left Lily on one of the vacant beds and turned to leave the ward again. Lily hoped vaguely that something was being done about Dumbledore's body. There was conversation a few beds down that Lily caught snatches of – speculations about werewolf tendencies and the chances that Bill might have any. He would definitely have scars, just the way Lily remembered him, but she didn't know anything about werewolves being involved. Perhaps that man who had attacked him– the gruesome one – was a werewolf….

She half listened to the conversation but, sitting alone on the white, clean hospital bed, Lily could not stop the repeating image of Dumbledore's graceful body falling through the night sky.

Lily was unsure how much time passed while the others talked and Madame Pomfrey tended to her uncle. Eventually, Professor McGonagall returned with Bill's parents and Fleur. Lily watched as her grandmother and grandfather rushed over to their son and Fleur did the same. McGonagall approached the group more slowly, cautiously, and spoke directly to Harry when she reached them.

"Harry, what happened? According to Hagrid you were saying Professor Snape was somehow involved with Professor Dumbledore's – "

"Snape killed Dumbledore," Lily whispered, more to herself than to anyone else, still trying to wrap her mind around the confusing course of events. Surely it was not supposed to have happened this way. Had she inadvertantly changed something, changed the past? She glanced over to find all eyes on her and sucked in her breath as if to take her quiet words back. There was disbelief evident on almost every face except for Harry's.

McGonagall turned her fierce gaze back to Harry, silently questioning him.

"It's true," Harry said bitterly. "He admitted to it when I ran after him."

"Snape," McGonagall repeated, her hand on her chest, "We all wondered… but he trusted… always… _Snape_… I can't believe it…."

"Snape was a highly accomplished Occlumens," said Lupin, his voice harsh. And although it was the first time Lily had heard him speak, she knew instantly that the tone did not suit him. "We always knew that."

The discussion continued but Lily fell too deeply into her own thoughts to contribute. She could find absolutely no redeeming qualities in the man of Severus Snape but her father had, at some point, found something there worth remembering. So, assuming Snape was on their side after wall, why was everything happening this way?

"I'd love to know what Snape told Dumbledore to convince him," Tonks was saying and Lily's head lifted slightly as she listened in.

"I know," Harry answered. "Snape passed Voldemort the information that made Voldemort hunt down my mum and dad. Then Snape told Dumbledore he hadn't realized what he was doing, he was really sorry he'd done it, sorry that they were dead."

Lily could hear Harry's distressed voice echoing in her head. _AND YOU LET HIM TEACH HERE AND HE TOLD VOLDEMORT TO GO AFTER MY MUM AND DAD! _She flinched as though she were actually hearing it again.

"And Dumbledore believed that," Lupin asked as though this was ridiculous. "Dumbledore believed Snape was sorry James was dead? Snape _hated_ James…."

"And he didn't think my mother was worth a damn either," Harry put in, "because she was Muggle-born…. 'Mudblood,' he called her…."

But that was not quite right, was it? Snape's anguished face as he stood in Dumbledore's office swam before Lily's eyes. _Lily Evans is _dead, _Albus. _There had been pain there, deep pain that had festered in Snape for years.

No, Lily suspected that Snape had cared about Harry's mother a great deal.

And no one knew that.

As Lily sat there and the others continued to talk amongst themselves Madame Pomfrey busted over to her and began inspecting the wound at her side without a word. Lily moved her arm out of the matron's way and tried to pull her shirt away from the gash but the blood had practically glued it to her side and when she tugged a stinging pain rippled out from the injury.

"Just sit still now," Madame Pomfrey reprimanded her and Lily stopped fidgeting. A large hole was cut into her shirt from Madame Pomfrey's wand and a moment later, with some complicated wand movements and muttered spell work, her wound stitched up and the blood cleared away.

"You'll have a mark for a while," the nurse told her frankly and Lily nodded to show she understood. She tried to smile in thanks but Madame Pomfrey had already turned away.

When Lily turned again to the group at the end of the ward, they were still talking quietly, Bill sleeping deeply in their midst. Lily was sorely tempted to lay her head down on the soft while pillow beside her and drift off to sleep herself. Her eyelids were heavy and her body tired and there was something comforting about the presence of her family even if she was stranger to them. She was just leaning over to pull back the sheets of the bed when a distressed voice cut through the quiet.

"You see!" Tonks was saying to Lupin. "She still wants to marry him, even though he's been bitten! She doesn't care!"

"It's different," Lupin muttered. "Bill won't be a full werewolf. The cases are completely – "

"But I don't care either, I don't care!" Tonks shook Lupin's robes forcefully. "I've told you a million times."

Lupin looked very uncomfortable to be having this conversation in the presence of so many people. All thoughts of sleep vanished as she watched them and she wanted to scream. How many things could go wrong in one night? Teddy's parents had been _in love_. Why was this happening? Why were they fighting? It was not right, none of it was, and Lily was starting to quietly panic.

"And I've told you a million times," Lupin said, his gaze down at his shoes, "that I am too old for you, too poor… too dangerous…."

Tonks was looking more upset with every word from the man in front of her and her expression was almost more upsetting to Lily than their words. All the pictures Lily had seen of the couple had shown a bright, happy Tonks with hair every color of the rainbow, just like Teddy. And Remus had looked easily just as happy, his arm around his wife, a smile on his face that made him look ten years younger than he did now.

Lily groaned and buried her face in her hands. "It doesn't make sense," she said in a strangled voice. She looked up abruptly and found everyone looking at her again but she was too exhausted to care much.

"You love each other," she told them, almost angrily. "You love each other, you get married and have a son, and it is _not supposed to be this way_. Nothing is supposed to be this way!"

She felt everyone's shocked stares on her but she ignored them and continued to look at Lupin and Tonks.

"And how would you know all this," Lupin asked her, his jaw clenched and his expression fierce. Lily flinched a little and leaned away. "Who _are_ you?"

"I – " she faltered, not sure how to continue. Lily looked to Harry, who stared right back at her, visibly conflicted.

_What's there to lose?_

_Only everything I know!_

Everyone was staring at her, waiting, and Lily wanted to disappear. Albus Dumbledore was dead and not only had he been one of the most amazing wizards of all time, he had also been her one real hope of returning to her own time. Did she really have anything to lose anymore?

"I know," she began again, her chest constricting painfully, "because I know your son. In a year you'll be married and in another you'll be parents. I know because Teddy Lupin is like my brother because I grew up with him around and because… because I'll be born eleven years from now."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Quite a few lines come directly from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. <strong>


	10. Meddling with Time

**World Enough and Time – Chapter Ten**

**Meddling with Time**

For the second time in his life Harry Potter was going to break into the Department of Mysteries.

He could still hear Teddy's words as clearly as though his godson were standing next to him repeating them. _If we know when and where it happened, we can go back and change it. Lily will never have been gone. It's this or nothing at all_. The only way they could go back and change things was with a time turner, and the only place Harry could get his hands on a time turner was in the Department of Mysteries. There was no more time for plans to be made or decisions to be questioned.

He stepped swiftly away from the room behind him in which Pansy Parkinson still sat in her dazed state. The effects of the veritaserum would wear off soon and then it was only a matter of time before Harry found himself on the other side of an interrogation. He moved quickly through the vacant corridors of the lower levels of the Ministry, his stride determined and his adrenaline starting to kick in.

_I've already broken the law once today,_ he thought, _and I may have just lost myself my job. _All that was left to lose was Lily and Harry was not going to let that happen.

When he reached the end of a particularly grimy hallway he peered cautiously around the corner to make sure that he was still alone. There was no one in sight. He hurried quickly to the left until he found the staircase he was looking for and braced himself before he flung open the large black door that blocked his path.

"Dad!"

Harry's pulse sped up and turned quickly, his wand flying up instinctively. When he recognized James – who looked out of breath and disheveled – he relaxed, but only slightly.

"Dad, what are you doing?" James jogged the rest of the way down the hall, his cheeks pink and his hair sticking up in every direction.

"James, you can't be here," Harry told him quickly, ignoring James's question. He ran a hand through his scruffy hair in agitation. "What are you doing down here?"

"Looking for you," James told him. "We all wanted to know what you'd found out. I thought you were still investigating Parkinson so I checked there first but the room was empty – "

"_Already?_"

James's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I just met her in the corridor, she went running past me like a mad woman and I thought something had happened to you – "

"James – "

"Dad, _what's going on? _Did you find anything out from her – "

"James, I don't have _time_ – "

"You've done something, haven't you."

There was a brief silence between them. James's suspicion was evident all over his face and Harry did not have time to assuage him. He had to get to the Department of Mysteries before the Aurors reached him. There was nothing for it but to tell his son the truth, even if that meant getting him into trouble as well. If everything went according to plan… none of this would happen anyway. Or at least, he thought so.

He put his hands firmly on James's shoulders and looked him directly in the eye. They were almost exactly the same height. "James," he began urgently, "I need to get to the place in the Department of Mysteries where they keep the time turners. You were just there – can you show me?"

James furrowed his brow for a moment, his jaw clenched. "I – we – the entire department is a _maze_. They blindfolded us when we went down there, I don't – "

Harry closed his eyes and gripped James's shoulders a little more tightly. _Aurors behind and a maze ahead_, he thought grimly. He needed a time turner, there was no negotiating that, but it would be no simple matter getting there. "I'm going down there," he said, opening his eyes to look at James. "I _have_ to try, for Lily."

"Then I'm going with you."

Harry paused only a moment before nodding.

"Though, I really don't know the way," James added.

Harry smiled grimly. "Then this will be something of an adventure, won't it?"

* * *

><p>Harry peered cautiously around the corner at a door leading directly into the Department of Mysteries, his wand aimed surreptitiously at the taller of two security wizards blocking their way. The two guards were chatting idly, their stances relaxed, their wands not drawn. James was behind him, his own wand gripped in his fist.<p>

"_Stupefy_," Harry whispered and a jet of red shot straight to its target. The wizard it struck crumpled instantly where he stood, unconscious. His partner stood rigid in shock, his mouth hanging open comically and his eyebrows up somewhere in the vicinity of his hairline. Harry watched as he drew his wand and looked around frantically.

Before Harry had the chance to fire off another spell a streak of red light shot out from behind him and the second guard fell like his companion. Harry turned to see James lowering his wand. He held back a satisfied smirk.

"Well let's go then," Harry said. He jogged over to the now unguarded door and worked quickly to unlock it. It took some work but after a few minutes and some quiet, muttered spell-work the door swung open, its sleek dark wood silent as it moved.

Harry instantly recognized the room they entered next. It was circular, the walls lined with tall wooden doors and torches. There was a eerie blue glow in the air. When Harry and James entered the door behind them closed and Harry braced himself for what was coming. The walls around the two of them spun rapidly, the doors blurring together into one dark smear around the room. He kept his wand ready. Beside him James too was holding his wand but his eyes were closed, his jaw clenched, and he looked as if he might be sick.

Eventually the spinning stopped and Harry and James were faced with the choice of which door to open first.

"Which one?" James asked quietly, still looking a little green.

Harry shook his head and said, "Only one way to find out." He walked straight ahead to one of the doors, opened it. He looked in to find himself standing on the edge of the universe. The scene that stretched out before him momentarily stunned him. Behind him James let out a low whistle.

"They don't joke about the mystery part, do they?"

The two stood motionless for a moment, gaping at the magnificent room – was it a room? – before them as a comet streaked past behind what Harry assumed was Saturn. The seconds ticked by silently before Harry shook himself back to reality and stepped away from the edge.

"Hold the door," he said urgently to James and walked back into the circular room. He muttered a quick spell to turn the door a brilliant shade of orange before nodding to his son. James released his hold and stepped away. As soon as the door was closed the room began to spin again.

The next door they tired led to a chamber containing a large aquatic tank filled with brains. The chamber was lined with doors and desks. Harry quickly pulled his son, who was looking oddly dazed, away from the entrance and shut the door after turning it a bright shade of purple

"But, Dad, the brains…," James protested as the room spun around them.

"Trust me," he murmured, "you don't want to go near those."

The third door proved to be the correct one.

"This is it," James whispered and Harry nodded. He recognized the room before him. It was, just as he remembered, filled to the brim with all manner of strange artifacts. As the two Potters made their way cautiously into the room Harry turned to his son.

"Do you know which way the time turners are?" Harry asked, looking around as if expecting to see a sign pointing in the right direction.

James studied the room around him and nodded. "This way," he said shakily and pointed off to the right.

The walk was short and a moment later they reached a set of towering shelves covered in tiny shimmering hourglasses. Harry stared up at them, his heart pounding in his chest, the prospect of seeing Lily again only slightly stronger than the panic at what he was about to do.

"Dad?" James asked, worry evident in his voice. Harry ignored him and reached out a hand to grab one of the time turners. "_Dad._"

Harry turned towards his son, his hand clasped around the tiny glass object but not removing it from the shelf.

"Dad, you can't be serious. You're really going to _steal_ from the Department of Mysteries? What… what are you going to do?"

But Harry could see in his face that he already knew. He ran his free hand through his hair. "You heard Teddy. And he was right."

"Dad – "

Harry shook his head. "_He was right_. The only way to get Lily back is to stop her from leaving at all."

James visibly swallowed. "You're going to go back to – to _weeks_ ago when Lily disappeared to change the whole time line? You heard Aunt Hermione, terrible things happen to wizards who meddle with – "

"I _know_!" Harry snapped, more loudly than he intended. Finally he pulled the time turner from the shelf. "But there are no other options! These only take you one way!" He shook the time turner at James, who flinched as the sand tumbled dangerously in its glass casing. "If a time turner took Lily where she went, she _can't_ come back. And I won't accept that! I'd do anything to change it!"

There was a brief pause before James nodded stiffly. "I know. Dad, I want Lily back too, you _know_ I'd do anything to get her back. But if you go back and stop Lily leaving, then there would be no reason for you to have gone back at all and so… what will happen to you?"

Harry sighed shakily.

"I don't know," he said quietly. "I don't know what happens when you _change_ something. But it doesn't matter. Not if we get Lily back."

At that moment Harry saw something move out of the corner of his eye, heard a small sound somewhere in the room. He quickly pulled James around into the shadows behind him and clasped his wand more tightly. At the far end of the row in front of him two wizards appeared, their red Auror robes visible even from where he stood.

"Harry Potter," one of the Aurors called out loudly. Harry recognized the voice of Anthony Jordon, one of the recently promoted trainees. "You are under arrest for illegal administration of a protected potion, unprovoked attack on Ministry officials, and breaking and entering into the Department of Mysteries. Lay your wand on the ground and step forward slowly."

* * *

><p>Lily's words met a heavy silence. She felt her cheeks warm up but refused to lower her eyes lest she look guilty or untruthful. The only trouble was figuring out who to look at, for absolutely everyone in the room (everyone conscious anyway) was looking directly at her.<p>

The eyes of her grandparents, of Ron and Ginny, of Tonks and Aunt Fleur were all shocked and reproachful. Remus's gaze was particularly harsh and Lily looked away from him quickly. Harry's face was stoic, expressionless, his posture stiff as he stared at her. Lily felt extremely out of sorts.

She held in a strangled sigh and wished that _someone _would say _something_. She had told them she was from the future and all they could do was stare at her. It was highly unnerving.

After what seemed like an eternity to Lily a skeptical, humorless laugh broke the uncomfortable silence and all eyes turned to Ginny. She was standing with her arms crossed and rolled her eyes. "Right," she said scathingly. "You're from the _future_."

Lily frowned. "I – but I _am_ – "

A hand fell on her shoulder and Lily turned to see Professor McGonagall standing directly behind her. "A word, please," the professor insisted quietly and Lily could easily tell that McGonagall was not to be argued with at the moment. But she tried anyway.

"But, _Professor_, please tell them – "

"Now is not the _time_," McGonagall told her with a stern glare. Her expression softened briefly and Lily jumped at the moment of weakness. She spun around fully so that she was facing the future Headmistress and spoke directly to her.

"Why _not_ now?" she demanded stubbornly. "After everything that's happened tonight do you really think it will make much difference?"

"Meddling with time is not to be taken lightly, Potter!" Lily heard gasps cries of disbelief from the people behind her but she did not look away from Professor McGonagall. Swallowing the lump forming in her throat Lily clenched her fists and argued back.

"Meddling with time!" Lily exclaimed heatedly, well aware that all eyes in the Hospital Wing were on her. "Do you have any better suggestions? Or maybe we should just have a few more weeks of pretending this never happened and hoping I'll just slip tidily back into my own time? I have to do _something_! And now Dumbledore's gone..."

And as she said this, her voice trailing off into a whisper, Lily finally understood why Dumbledore had felt he needed to share her secret with another living soul. Because somehow he had known, or guessed, that this was the night he died and if he died then it was only Minerva McGonagall left who knew, with no one to corroborate her story and quite enough to be getting on with in the wake of the death of one of the greatest wizards of all time. And so he had told Harry, and Severus Snape of all people, to _help_ her, to make sure that she had people to go to, to trust, who would fight for her not only because it was the right thing to do but because they would, in some way, care about her survival. She turned to face the other occupants of the ward, her gaze finding Harry and silently pleading with him to believe that she was telling the truth.

Harry stared back at her, saying nothing, his expression closed off and stoic. Lily felt terrible and restless and she was _tired_ of being stared at. She did not want to see her grandparent's disapproving looks or Hermione's calculating expression or Remus's bitter stare. She did not want to be here at all, but so long as she was stuck in nineteen ninety seven Lily was done with pretending to be someone else.

When everyone continued to be silent Lily spoke again. "I'm not lying," she said quietly though her voice easily carried through the quiet hall. "I really have traveled back in time. I know it sounds impossible, but I'm _not_ lying."

Lily turned to look at McGonagall who was still standing behind her. The professor's cheeks were pale and her lips thin but she was at least no longer protesting Lily's actions.

"Please, Professor," she said quietly. "Tell them you believe me."

For a moment McGonagall was silent. "Albus believed her," she said firmly as if this settled the matter, finally looking away from Lily to the rest of the ward's occupants.

There was a short, confused pause before Harry cut in harshly, "He also believed _Snape_."

Lily's gaze darted back to Harry when he spoke and the mutinous expression on his face made her chest constrict. He was one of the only people to know her secret – he _had _to believe her. "Dumbledore had no reason to lie to you!" she protested fiercely. "And neither do I!"

"Everything you've told us since you've been here has been a lie," Harry shot back furiously. "You're not McGonagall's niece, you're not a student here, and you're not my _daughter_ from the future!"

There were several gasps and exclamations at this, just as there had been when Professor McGonagall had used her proper surname. Again, Lily ignored them and instead kept her focus on Harry. Her eyes filled with frustrated tears but she blinked them away and clenched her fists. Dumbledore had not been this hard to convince, nor this infuriating. Her heart twinged a little as she recalled their first meeting, how he had done nothing but try and _help_ her. He certainly had not _yelled_ at her.

Lily ran a hand through the disaster her hair had become and fought the urge to scrub the tears from her eyes. Everyone was staring at her and no one was saying anything and she had never felt more alone in her entire life. She wanted to run away, back up to the Astronomy Tower, back before this whole horrible night had happened, before Snape had found her skiving off lessons, before Dumbledore had died. A few hours ago her biggest worry had been whether or not Harry would spot her on the Marauder's Map.

_The Map!_

Lily gasped when she suddenly realized how _simple_ it was.

"The Map!" she exclaimed loudly and suddenly as she saw a few people jump in surprise. She almost smiled. "The Map, the Map never lies," she told Harry, as if he did not already know this. "Where is it?"

Harry merely clenched his jaw stubbornly.

"I have it," Hermione said quietly, and she pulled it from the pocket of her robes. Lily instantly recognized the aging parchment and she smiled widely in relief. Some of the room's occupants were looking thoroughly confused – McGonagall, her grandparents, Fleur – but Harry's fierce expression faltered for a moment before he turned to take the Map from Hermione. She handed it to him without argument and Harry in turn held it out to Lily.

"Show me," was all he said.

Lily took the Marauder's Map in her shaking hands and pulled her wand from her pocket. She tapped the parchment with her wand and said clearly, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Black ink started to spread across the surface and Lily looked up to see a few expressions of reluctant acceptance. Harry still looked stoic, but Remus of all people was staring at her with open shock. Lily knew well that he was one of the Map's creators but it was the first time he had looked at her with anything other than anger or disdain.

Carefully, Lily began to unfold the worn parchment to find the Hospital Wing. It only took a moment and when she found it there was indeed a tiny black dot labeled _Lily Potter_. She handed the Map silently back to Harry who took it slowly as if he did not want to touch it.

His face paled instantly when he read the one name on the Marauders Map that had no business being there. After a moment Harry looked back up at her and she met his gaze, keenly aware that all eyes were on the two of them. "I told you," Lily whispered. "Everything I told you is true."

And while Harry said nothing he nodded and Lily felt relief wash over her. She nearly smiled before another voice broke the silence.

"I don't understand," Molly Weasley said from where she sat next to her son's bed. "How is a map proof of anything?" She was not the only one who looked confused either. While quite a few of the Infirmary's current occupants recognized the tattered parchment Harry held there were still those who had no idea what it was or why it would confirm her identity.

Lily felt her jaw start to tremble and rather than answer her future grandmother she turned to Remus, eager to rally more support now that Harry had been convinced. "You know what the Map is," she said quietly and for the first time that evening he looked back at her with an expression other than contempt and disbelief. He was pale and the lines in his face stood out sharply in the dim light of the room. "You helped make it. That's why Teddy got it first. He's the oldest."

At the mention of his supposed son Remus took a hasty step away from her. For a moment his expression broke into a mix of surprise and mournful sort of frown. She just stared at him imploringly.

"Remus?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

The werewolf shook himself and seemed to remember everyone else in the room. Although he addressed the occupants as a whole his eyes never left Lily's face. "The Map – it's a map of Hogwarts that shows the location of everyone in the castle. Each individual has their own labeled dot and it is _never_ wrong."

"Perhaps you've bewitched it," Hermione said stubbornly. "You could know about the Map from Peter Pettigrew. It's not _possible_, that kind of travel through time."

"It _is_ possible though," Lily retorted. "If anyone can believe me it's you! You've been back in time yourself." There were a few vague noises of surprise and interest at this new revelation. Hermione looked startled.

"It was only ever a few hours," she whispered. "They don't work over such a long distance..."

"But it _is_ possible, going back in time."

Hermione did not refute this. She looked from Lily to Harry to Remus and seemed to be at something of a loss. Lily took another look around the room at everyone else there. Remus had approached Harry and was staring at the Marauders Map with blatant shock. Her grandparents looked bewildered, McGonagall reserved, Tonks interested, and Fleur seemed to be ignoring everyone in favor of tending to the still unconscious Bill. There was no longer reproach in any expression around the room except one. Ginny looked positively mutinous but Lily was no stranger to her mother's stubborn nature.

Lily observed them all quietly as they watched her in turn and she felt as if she were on some sort of stage. The Hospital doors were behind her and there was no one between her and a hasty exit. Lily longed to run away from all this madness. But now that she was finally gaining some support it was more important than ever that she stay with her future family.

Lupin, looking overwhelmed and exhausted collapsed onto the bed Lily had vacated earlier and Tonks was at his side in an instant. Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged significant looks, communicating silently.

"So, _who_ exactly are you?" Ron asked. "I mean, if you're not McGonagall's niece and you've actually traveled back in time..." He trailed off, glancing awkwardly at Harry.

"You believe me?" Lily asked quietly.

Ron shrugged. "Harry does. And so does Hermione. And Professor McGonagall and even Dumbledore did. Pretty good recommendations, those."

Lily smiled and her knees felt weak.

"My name is Lily," she said. Ron took a step forward and held out his hand. Lily blinked in surprise for a moment before she took it and they shook.

"Nice to meet you," Ron grinned. Lily could not help returning the gesture, even if the smile slid from her face rather quickly.

And with this everyone else in the Hospital seemed to relax. The extremely tense atmosphere that had pervaded the space since Lily entered was fading and, while the mood was not a happy one by any means, Lily no longer felt as though she was going to be attacked at any moment. In fact in spite of the tragedy of it, the wake of Dumbledore's death had provided the opportunity for Lily to seek comfort in those from whom she wanted it the most.

"This is ridiculous!" Ginny burst out and everyone jumped a little at the sudden shout. Lily's future mother was the only one in the room now who seemed to harbor any doubt as to Lily's identity. "You really want us to believe that you're Harry's daughter from the future? That's mad!"

Lily glanced at Harry and turned back to Ginny, not sure how to answer, when Hermione said, "She's not just _Harry's_ daughter." Ginny opened her mouth furiously before pausing as Hermione's implication sunk in. She blushed a brilliant shade of red and eyed Lily's bright Weasley hair, her brown eyes, her freckles. Ginny glanced over at Harry, whose cheeks were also flushed, before turning back to Lily.

"Oh dear," Mrs. Weasley whispered, one hand over her heart.

After a moment of shock Ginny straightened up, crossed her arms and said, "I don't believe you. Who says the Map is _always_ right – you can't trust anything that thinks for itself – "

"If you can't see where it keeps its brain," Lily finished.

Behind Ginny Mr. Weasley smiled brightly and Lily smiled slightly in return. A few tense seconds passed before Ginny's defiant confidence crumbled.

"You're – you're my _daughter_?" she asked, raising a shaky hand to her forehead.

"Well, I _will_ be your daughter," Lily answered, thinking that was perhaps one of the strangest things she had ever said.

"That's ridiculous," Ginny said faintly.

"You're telling me."

"And your name is Lily," Remus said quietly, the ghost of smile on his face. "Lily Potter." For the first time Lupin smiled and even put an arm around Tonks and pulled her closer. Lily smiled back, her eyes watery with all the pent up emotion of the last few minutes. In that moment Lily felt something warm creep up from her toes and fill her up. Her family was here, they believed her, and she was _not_ alone. This moment, however, could not last.

"So what are we going to do with you now, Ms. Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked, effectively putting an end to Lily's short-lived contentment. "The school year is certainly over at this point and – " her voice wavered, "I have no way of getting you back to where you came from."

* * *

><p>Harry did lower his wand to the ground but not before casting a quick <em>muffliato<em> around himself and James and _discreetlly_ motioning for his son to step around the corner of the shelf out of view. Harry stood quite still, raising his hands slowly to show himself to be unarmed.

"James," he whispered quickly over his shoulder. "I'm going to distract the Aurors. You're going to take the time turner and get the hell out before they know that you're here."

"What? Dad, no – "

Harry cut him off. "We know when Lily disappeared and we know she was at Hogwarts," he continued even more quickly than before. "Go to Al first, he might know something about why she was out that night."

"Dad, they're here to _arrest_ you – "

"Step forward slowly, Potter," one of the Aurors called. Harry could see him raise his wand.

"Don't lose her again," Harry whispered fiercely, risking a glance over his shoulder. "Don't let Lily disappear."

With one swift movement Harry dropped to the floor, swept up his wand in an arcing motion and fired off a harmless – but blindingly bright – curse in the direction of the Aurors. His left hand, still clutching the time turner, found James and shoved it into his hands. He heard James's footsteps as his son sprinted for the exit and Harry stood and shot off a quick _Reducto_ to cover the noise. The bang that issued from his wand echoed in the cavernous room but the spell had cost Harry the chance to defend himself. A moment later there was an Auror on either side of him, both of their wands trained on him.

"Drop the wand!" Jordan's partner, a bulky man named Hedesse, ordered loudly.

"Why not just disarm me?" Harry asked, as if he were simply instructing in a training exercise. He was determined to buy James as much time as possible. "Or stun me and render me unconscious?"

Jordan answered out of habit. "There's too much sensitive equipment in here. Any stray spell could have unexpected and dangerous consequences."

Harry nodded. "The Department of Mysteries _is_ a special case," he said conversationally, still not lowering his own wand.

Hedesse took a step closer, his wand pointed at Harry's head. "He's not _teaching_ us, Jordan. Get your fucking act together! Now drop the wand, Potter, or I'll make you."

"By disarming me or stunning me?" Harry asked with a smirk.

Hedesse quickly closed the gap between them and a second later Harry felt the Auror's knee collide hard with his stomach. Harry dropped to his knees, one arm wrapped around his sore abdomen, the other supporting his weight. He took two deep breaths and steadied himself into a crouching position.

"Efficient," he said lightly, though there was a hint of strain there now. A second later in a sort of leaping tackle he had swiped Hedesse's legs out from under him. The larger man let out a roar of frustration and kicked out a leg, flipping Harry over onto his back. He hit one of the towering shelves around them and it swayed dangerously. There was quiet _chink chink_ of fragile glass. Harry and Hedesse both froze, watching with bated breath before the shelf settled back into place.

"_Stay still, both of you!"_ Jordan shouted, now the only one still standing. He aimed his wand but was obviously hesitant to fire any spells. But Harry was already moving again, struggling to get into a standing position in the tight space. Hedesse grabbed one of his ankles and he toppled again, his elbow finding Hedesse's cheek bone.

"Oh just stun him! STUN HIM!" Hedesse roared as he grabbed wildly at Harry's wand arm and Harry struggled to free it. Hedesse's own wand had fallen to the floor at some point in all the confusion.

Jordan continued to hesitate and Harry managed to fire off a quick stinging hex, despite the painful grip on his forearm. The spell flew off and hit Jordan, who winced but did not move. Another stinging hex hit Hedesse's eye and he let out a roar of pain, finally releasing Harry.

"JORDAN! STUN HIM NOW!" The aggravated Auror shouted somewhere close to Harry's ear. There was a flash of red light and Harry was unconscious.


	11. Tweaking the Time Line

**World Enough and Time – Chapter Eleven**

**Tweaking the Time Line**

Of all the nights Lily had spent in the Hogwarts Infirmary, this was by the far the strangest, and the longest. Although the sun had long since set Lily remained awake, leaning against the headboard of her tidy white bed and staring into the inky blackness that filled the tall windows of the room. Her legs were pulled up to her chest and her arms were wrapped limply around her knees as she stared blankly ahead. Her eyes itched with exhaustion but she could not sleep. All the adrenaline from the night had worn off but her mind was buzzing, she was sore all over, and she was utterly emotionally spent.

The only other occupant in the wing was her Uncle Bill, who slept peacefully at the far end of the hall. Lily glanced over at him and saw the gashes on his face were already healing due to Madame Pomfrey's care. The low candlelight in the room flickered and threw Bill's features into sharp relief. Lily looked away.

_Have I changed anything_, Lily wondered. Bill was still badly scarred, Dumbledore was still dead, and Snape had still killed him. It was the history she knew, but it was not at all how she had imagined it. It had all seemed so exciting and straight forward when she was younger. Now she knew it was anything but simple and that any excitement was forgotten, far outweighed by terror.

Lily gripped her knees more tightly and closed her eyes, wishing she could fall asleep. But her mind was filled with too many troubling thoughts.

_Dumbledore's gone_, she thought and buried her face in her knees. She had only met the famous wizard a few weeks ago but she had heard about him her whole life. He had been everything and more that she had imagined from her father's stories of the legendary wizard. And she missed him. Even after knowing the man for such a short time Lily still mourned the death of Albus Dumbledore, and not only because he had been her best hope of going home.

Lily had not realized how much she had been relying on the Headmaster to conjure up some miraculous solution to send her home. Now there was little hope of Lily ever returning there except by the natural passage of time. She briefly envisioned greeting the family she remembered as an adult, older than Al, James, even Teddy. As old as her parents. She shivered and pushed that thought away.

Stretching Lily let herself collapse into the pillow behind her and curled up on her side. Despite the stiff and scratchy bedding of the Hospital Wing Lily was glad to be here instead of Gryffindor Tower. Madame Pomfrey had not argued and Lily had watched without regret as Harry, Ginny, and the others departed for the night. After Lily had finally convinced them all of who she truly was there was less talk about her and more about the tragic events of the evening. The weight of Dumbledore's death had settled on all of them again and there were things to be done, things that could not wait, not even for the time traveling daughter of Harry Potter.

Lily knew that she was probably not the only one in the castle still awake. She knew that Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were probably still up – probably talking about _her_ – but she preferred their speculating to the numerous questions she would have been submitted to in their presence. That could wait. They believed her and that was what mattered right now. And they would, as much as it pained her to even think it, have plenty of time to get to know each other because - Lily felt her stomach twist in knots - she was not likely to go anywhere any time soon.

As her tired eyes slipped closed Lily could not help entertaining yet again the feeble hope that she would wake up somewhere more familiar, in her own bed, all of this just a bad dream. She was just drifting off when a weight settled on the end of her mattress and Lily started out of her dozing state.

Lily sat up quickly and twisted to see Ginny sitting by her feet, staring back at her. She scrambled awkwardly into a sitting position and glanced around to see if anyone else was in the room but Ginny appeared to have come alone.

"I didn't hear you come back. You startled me," Lily mumbled.

"Sorry," Ginny answered automatically. Her gaze did not waver from Lily's face and she took a deep breath before speaking again. "Everyone still believes you. That you're from the _future_."

There was something in Ginny's voices to suggest she did not necessarily include herself in "everyone." It was surprisingly painful - though not altogether shocking - to have her mother doubt her.

"And what do you believe?"

For a moment Ginny did not say anything at all. She simply stared at Lily and Lily stared back, two sets of identical brown eyes meeting across the space of the bed.

"You know things," Ginny conceded. "Things you shouldn't. It's just that... it's so..."

Lily sighed and ran a hand through her thoroughly disheveled hair. "Impossible?"

"Yes."

Lily recalled her first meeting in this Hospital Wing – when she had met Albus Dumbledore – and the irony was not now lost on her. She had been _so_ reluctant to believe that she had traveled back in time, so reluctant to believe what Dumbledore was telling her, and now she was in the position of convincing a teenage witch that was every bit as stubborn as she was.

Lily shifted her weight into a more comfortable position and turned her gaze to the windows straight ahead of her. The sky was no longer tinged with green and the stars had come out. "I wish it _was_ impossible," she said in a tired voice. "I want so badly to be home. But that's not looking very likely anymore, not with Dumbledore..."

"Dead," Ginny finished somberly. She turned to look over at Bill and Lily saw her expression harden. "There really is going to be a war, isn't there."

Lily looked over at Bill as well. "It's already started."

The two were quiet for a while after that. Lily considered the Ginny Weasley before her and marveled at her teenage mother's courage. The fifteen-year-old sitting on her bed seemed neither frightened nor intimidated by the war that would soon be raging in the Wizarding World. Lily was _terrified_ that she might still be stuck here when things really began to go badly. Voldemort was history to Lily and she wanted him to stay that way.

"But we're going to win," Ginny murmured fiercely, still looking at Bill.

Lily swallowed hard and could not help asking quietly, "But how can you be so sure?"

Ginny looked back at her, surprised. "If anything's proof of that, _you_ are." And then she blushed.

"How do you know I haven't changed something? Messed everything up? The world I know might not even exist anymore."

It was the first time she had voiced this thought aloud and it stung. "We'll win," Ginny repeated confidently, "Because that world is worth fighting for."

Lily, who had never been faced with imminent war before, could think of nothing to say to this and so she merely nodded. The other girl's confidence was comforting but Lily could not help dwelling on all the terrible things that would happen before Voldemort was defeated, if in fact he still would be now that she had shown up and thrown a wrench into everything. So many people died, Dumbledore was just the beginning. Uncle Fred was not far from her thoughts.

Lily did not want to see anyone die.

"We'll all make it through this, we have to," Ginny said. She paused, and for just a moment, she looked vulnerable. "Won't we?"

Her mother's eyes, so like her own, were fixed on Lily, who opened her mouth only to have no sound come out. She was about to tell Ginny – to lie – that yes of course everyone would make it through all right, but before she had the chance, a sharp, blinding pain exploded in the back of her head.

* * *

><p>James ran as he never had in his life.<p>

He sprinted out of the Department of Mysteries, up the flights of stairs to the Atrium, and hurtled through the throngs of people there until he reached the fireplaces lining the walls. He ignored the angry exclamations or witches and wizards he shoved in his hurry, grabbed a handful of floo powder from beside the closest grate, and threw it into the flames. With a hurried shout of "Twelve Grimmauld Place!" James disappeared in a rush of green flames, the time turner still clenched in his sweaty fist.

James's momentum carried through the whirling blur of fireplaces until he was spit out onto the carpet of his parents' Londom home. Lying there, face pressed into the floor, James felt his heart beating against his chest and tried to steady his breathing while everything that had just happened caught up with him. By now his dad had mostly likely been arrested for... _well, quite a few things actually._ Most recently, breaking into the Department of Mysteries and stealing –

No.

Harry Potter never left the Department of Mysteries with a time turner in his possession. He, James, had stolen it. His fingers closed more tightly around the fragile hourglass. His father's desperate voice came to him. _Don't lose her again. Don't let Lily disappear_.

James took a deep breath and got shakily to his feet.

_Go to Al first, he might know something about why she was out that night._

James jogged to the stairs and began bounding up them. "Albus! ALBUS!"

As James crashed up the stairs and rounded the corner of the second floor landing Al burst from his room, wand in hand. James opened his mouth but there was no air left in his lungs.

"_What? _What is it?" Al asked frantically. "Is everyone all right?"

"We're going to Hogwarts," James croaked out, "I need your help. Come on." He grabbed Al's shoulder and started to pull him towards the stairs.

"James, what the hell are you talking about? Wait. _Stop_." Al jerked out of James's grip and stepped away from the stairs. "_What the hell is going on_?"

"Yes, James, what the hell _is_ going on?"

James and Al turned to see Teddy coming down from the third floor, his green hair out of place in the surrounding décor of Grimmauld Place. Like Albus he also had his wand out but his expression was much calmer.

"I heard yelling. Is everyone all right?"

"I think something's wrong with James," Al muttered and James swatted his arm. They simply did not have time for this and so, instead of trying to explain the situation he held out the time turner in front of him. It dangled on its short chain, glimmering. Albus stared wide-eyed between the hourglass and James, his mouth gaping like a fish.

Teddy stepped forward slowly down the remaining stairs onto the second floor landing. "James, where did you get that?" he asked quietly.

"Does it matter? It's about time we did something to get Lily back."

"_Finally_," Al burst out, overcoming his shock at seeing the time turner. "What are we waiting for? Let's go."

James watched Teddy's expression flicker with doubt. His hair faded back to its natural brown. "This is _so_ illegal," he said quietly, still staring at the time turner.

Al huffed impatiently. "Teddy, this was _your_ idea."

"It doesn't matter whose idea it was," James said quickly. "It's happening, we're doing this. Al, you were the last one to see Lily, and I know you've done nothing but come up with theories about why she was out that night so I need your help." James straightened his shoulders and turned to the older wizard. "Are you coming or not?"

Teddy nodded. "But I know all of Al's theories, he's told me enough, he doesn't need to be a part of this– "

"Just try and stop me!" Al retorted furiously. "I'm coming."

"Agreed," James said quickly to avoid any further argument. He was extremely thankful their mother was not in the house.

"Fine," Teddy conceded reluctantly. "Al, go grab the Cloak from your room. We'll Apparate to Hogsmeade and use the time turner once we're in the castle."

Al disappeared to him room to fetch the Invisibility Cloak and Teddy turned to James. "How are we going to find Lily once we go back?"

"We know generally where they found the broken time turner and the Marauder's Map. We can wait there, under the Cloak."

"We don't exactly when though..."

"That's why we're bringing Al. He was the last one of us to see her, talk to her, and he really has done nothing but piece together that night as much as any of us can..."

Al came back a moment later, the infallible cloak shimmering in his arms. "We're really doing this," Albus said, looking very slightly nervous.

James and Teddy exchanged a look. "We're really doing this," they said together.

* * *

><p>Evening was falling quickly but Hogsmeade was still brimming with shoppers and residents when James, Albus, and Teddy arrived. They Apparated into an alley behind the Three Broomsticks, which was thankfully vacant, and were instantly met with the sounds of people coming from the main street.<p>

"I _hate_ Apparating," Al muttered, rubbing absently at his ears.

"Al, stop grumbling and put the Cloak on," Teddy whispered harshly. Al rolled his eyes but did as he was told.

"Why do _I_ have to be invisible? James is the one who _stole_ from the Ministry."

"Shut up," James hissed. "You'll draw more attention than Teddy or me. You're still a student and it's not a Hogsmeade weekend."

"Not to mention you're the spitting image of Harry Potter," Teddy muttered. Albus shot a glare in Teddy's direction that, of course, the older wizard did not see.

"I haven't been in school in weeks – "

"Al, just shut it, okay?" Teddy cut in. "We'd all be wearing the Cloak if it fit but, as it doesn't and as you are the most conspicuous, you get to be invisible."

The High Street buzzed with evening shoppers, all hurrying about to get their errands done before the shops closed for the night. Albus was careful not to bump into anyone and cause a stir, an easy task after so many nighttime wanderings with the Cloak.

Al felt oddly at ease despite the fact that they were about to do something very dangerous and very illegal. James on the other hand was visibly unsettled. He was not saying anything and he kept glancing around as if he expected Aurors to jump out from any direction and arrest him. For the first time since James had returned to Grimmauld Place in a frenzy Albus wondered where his father was. He had gone to investigate Pansy Parkinson and, when he had not returned, Albus's mother hand sent him home and Teddy had gone as well. They had not heard any news and then James showed up with a time turner... A wriggling unease filled his stomach but he ignored it and forced himself to think about saving his sister instead.

When Al saw that James and Teddy were walking in the direction that would take them to the castle gates he seized his brothers robes as surreptitiously as possible.

James jumped at the contact and spun around and Teddy grabbed his shoulder.

"James, relax. You're breathing like you've run a marathon."

"_What_, Albus?" James whispered.

Had he not been invisible Al would have rolled his eyes but instead he said, "You can't just walk up to the gates and get in, you idiots. Let's take the secret passage in Honeyduke's."

Thankfully the candy shop was still open and James, Albus, and Teddy had little trouble sneaking into the cellar. When they had entered the tunnel Albus removed the Invisibility Cloak and stuffed it into his jacket. The walk to the castle felt like an eternity and the three wizards made the journey in relative silence, their footsteps slipping and echoing in the dark, cramped space.

Finally, all three of them breathing heavily, they reached the entrance to the tunnel concealed by the one-eyed witch. Al stretched his stiff limbs and looked around. The last time he had been in the castle Lily had only just disappeared. It seemed fitting that upon his return he would be getting her back.

"Near the Great Hall, right?" James asked quietly. Albus nodded and the three of them set off through the corridors. The castle was quiet. The sun had set during their trip through the tunnel and Al suspected that most students were probably back in their common rooms. They did not encounter anyone in the corridors on their way to the Entrance Hall and found it equally deserted when they arrived.

As they stood in the quiet Hall Albus looked around to find the space as ordinary as ever. If he had not already known, he never would have suspected that anything had happened to Lily here.

"So, how exactly are we going to do this?" Teddy asked. "We just go back and... wait for Lily to show up? You're sure you did the math right, James?"

James nodded. "I'm positive. Are we all going?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Al shot back.

"I think at least one of us should stay behind," Teddy suggested. "Just in case this doesn't go as planned."

"Well I'm not saying behind," Al said immediately. He turned to James and cut him off before his brother could say anything. "And don't you dare say otherwise."

James did not look pleased. "Mum will have my head on a platter if I let you do this and she finds out."

But Albus was having none of this. "You don't have to _let_ me do anything. I'm seventeen! I've decided and I'm not staying behind. We're finally doing something to get Lily back and I won't be left out of it!"

"Well I can't let _both_ of you go," Teddy said, sounding grim. "I don't even want to _think_ about telling Harry that all three of his children are missing."

"Fine, it's settled. Teddy and I will go."

James still looked mutinous and Al fought down an irritated sigh. He held out his hand and waited. James stared at him and Al stared right back and a moment later his brother had carefully placed the time turner in his hand. "Don't let Lily disappear," James said quietly. Albus nodded.

"We're doing this to fix things, James," he told his brother, his irritation gone now that they was no more argument about his participation. "Everything's going to be normal again."

James still looked unsure and Albus watched as Teddy put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It really is our only chance to get her back."

"Dad said he didn't know _what_ would happen if you go back and change things..."

Albus was about to protest but before he could say anything James caught him in a hug. After a second Al returned the gesture. Although not complete strangers to displays of brotherly affection it still caught him off guard. He felt suddenly very nervous about what he and Teddy were about to do and let himself wonder for the briefest second what would happen if they did _not_ succeed. They might destroy everything. He might never see James again.

"If you get lost Mum will murder me," James said seriously. Al smiled and James let go.

"See you soon, James," Teddy said with another clap on James's shoulder. A moment later Albus had covered himself and Teddy with the Invisibility Cloak, the latter crouched down to hide his feet, and he held the time turner in his hands. It was practically buzzing, or maybe he was shaking, he could not be sure. Teddy gripped his arm tightly and Al began to turn the delicate hourglass. There was a faint sound like a chain clinking against itself and perhaps the faintest ticking and then they were gone.

* * *

><p>Lily let out a cry of pain and her hands flew up to her head. She was barely aware of her surroundings but she heard someone yelling her name.<p>

"Lily! _Lily_!"

The voice wavered in Lily's ears and she let out another cry. The only thought that filled her mind was _pain_ and she vaguely felt herself collapse on the bed. Instinctively, Lily curled up on her side and her fingers gripped at her hair. As if from very far away Lily heard Ginny calling for Madame Pomfrey.

"Lily? What's wrong? _Lily_!"

"Mum?" Lily murmured and she thought her voice might have slurred. She squeezed her eyes shut and felt tears leak out of them.

"Madame Pomfrey, I don't know what happened, she just _collapsed_."

Her mother's voice was frantic and it did nothing to sooth Lily's aching head. She could not open her eyes but she felt a hand on her shoulder and knew the matron was there. There were more words, garbled and nonsensical to her, and Lily peeked through her eyelids to see Madame Pomfrey's hazy form in front of her.

And then she was gone.

And Lily was not lying down anymore either, though she did not remember sitting up. Her head spun and she felt dizzy and disoriented. Had she been crying? A hand flew up to her cheeks but they were dry. Ginny was sitting calmly on the end of her bed and Madame Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen. But then Lily could not remember why she should have been looking for the witch. Her head was pounding and Ginny was saying something...

"We'll all make it through this, we have to. Won't we?"

Lily brought a hand up to her aching head and stared at Ginny in confusion, trying to recall what they had been talking about.

"Make it through what?"

But Ginny did not seem to hear her. Lily blinked and Ginny was no longer watching her but was staring down the length of the Infirmary at her brother. Lily felt her breathing hitch, her heartbeat speeding up unaccountably.

Her head continued to throb and she gasped and clenched the sheets beneath her in her fists. She shut her eyes and tried to block out the pain, to make sense of something, but could come up with _nothing_.

When Lily opened her eyes again Ginny was still seated on her bed and Lily almost sighed in relief before she heard, "Everyone still believes you. That you're from the _future_." Although she had no idea why Lily felt certain she had heard those words before. ...Hadn't she?

Lily stared at her fifteen-year-old mother and struggled to find an appropriate response but only ended up groaning in pain. Her eyes began to water and she rubbed at them furiously. When she looked again, Ginny was gone.

"_What_ is going on?" Lily burst out desperately and then wondered why she would say such a thing. Her vision blurred and her head throbbed and all she wanted was to curl up on this bed and go to sleep. But just as she twisted to lie down she found herself standing in a Hospital Wing full of people, staring at her, some of them angrily. Lily blinked in shock as Harry started shouting.

"Everything you've told us since you've been here has been a lie! You're not McGonagall's niece, you're not a student here, and you're not my _daughter _from the future!"

Lily felt as though someone had punched her in the gut and she stared at Harry. Frustration and fear welled up inside of her and her heart pounded furiously in her chest and her head hurt _so much_. Lily felt herself shaking and she pressed the palms of her hands to her face. _Deep breath_, she told herself. _Just breathe._ And then something next to her exploded.

Lily screamed and ducked down to the floor as curses of every color flew past her, a battle raging around her. She turned frantically in every direction and saw Death Eaters and students and members of the Order of the Phoenix. She saw rubble and blood and heard screams and shouts of curses. How did she get here she had just been in the Hospital Wing – _no, that's not right..._ She had just been in Dumbledore's office... with Harry, and Snape had told them about Death Eaters in the castle and –

An orange burst of light streaked by her shoulder and Lily twisted to follow its trajectory. The instant she turned toward one of the windows she saw Albus Dumbledore's body plummeting to the earth in a graceful arc.

Collapsing, Lily felt tears sting at her eyes while her head continued to pound and her whole body shook. Images began to blur all around her. She caught snatches of conversation, random sounds and feelings.

"_You believe me?"_

"_I don't know. Maybe. Dumbledore believes you."_

'_I think I would know if I had a kid!"_

"_Lily Evans was my grandmother."_

"_Lily who?"_

"_Lily Potter."_

_Harry and Snape were arguing._

_She was meeting her fifteen-year-old mother._

"_MURDER! MURDER IN THE BATHROOM!"_

"_It's April eleventh, Ms. Potter. And it is nineteen ninety seven."_

_"You think I've... traveled through in time?"_

The pain in Lily's head reached a peak and her vision blackened. A moment later she could not hear or see anything at all.


	12. Full Circle

**World Enough and Time – Chapter Twelve**

**Full Circle**

_Time is what we want most, but what we use worst. – William Penn_

Lily opened her eyes to find herself alone in the Gryffindor Common Room.

It was late – the fire in the grate had simmered down to embers and the sky outside the windows was a deep, unyielding black. Lily blinked a few times, disoriented, before glancing down at her lap, which was laden with textbooks and a half-written essay. As she rubbed her eyes and tried to focus she noticed that they felt puffy, as if she'd been crying, but she attributed this to yet another late night doing homework.

Lily sat up from her slouched position in the chair and winced as her stiff muscles protested the movement. She yawned and stretched, and tried to remember what she had been working on before she fell asleep or how late it was or even what day of the week it was but her drowsy mind complied with none of these requests.

As she tried to focus on the essay in her lap something else nagged at her, some vague thought or memory that was just out of reach. It prickled in the back of her mind and Lily was overcome with the feeling that she was forgetting something very important. It was like a dream rapidly disappearing after waking up.

But the more Lily tried to remember what she had been dreaming about – for surely it was just a troubling dream lingering in her subconscious – the more it slipped away. After a few minutes of strained concentration Lily gave it up as a bad job, shook her head as if to clear it, and re-read the last paragraph on her essay to reassemble her thoughts.

Half an hour later Lily had finished her essay and closed up her textbooks. Setting aside her parchment and quill she stretched, stiff from sitting so long in one place, and then sank back into the plushy red fabric of her chair.

With OWLs coming up so soon the Fifth Years had more work than ever and this was not the first time she had dozed off mid-assignment. However, despite the late hour, Lily felt no urge to head up to her dormitory and go to sleep. She felt oddly restless as she sat by the dying fire. Something very like adrenaline seemed to be lingering in her system and there was something unsettling about the unerring quiet in the room, like sudden silence after a very loud noise. Again Lily turned her thoughts to what must have been a very unsettling dream for it to stay with her like this. For some reason she thought it had something to do with her family – her parents. And Albus Dumbledore. And the Hospital Wing...

Lily's hand went absently to the side of her abdomen and she was surprised when there was no pain there, no sign of a wound. Then, confused, she could not think why there would be. She sighed heavily and tried to get comfortable in the heavily-cushioned chair but it was impossible. As Lily tried to figure out why she felt so tired and alert at the same time, why her stomach was churning unpleasantly, she leaned forward and put her face in her hands.

Lily found, as her thoughts ambled back to her family, that she felt _homesick_.

In fact, as realization formed in her mind, Lily was fairly certain she had never felt more homesick in her entire life. In five years at Hogwarts Lily had never so ached to see her family, her home, and the end of the term suddenly seemed an eternity away.

More restless than ever Lily decided to take a walk to clear her head. She tucked her essay safely away in her bag, tucked her wand in her pocket, and pulled on her shoes before making her way through the portrait hole and into the corridor beyond.

Luckily, the Fat Lady was asleep in her frame and Lily avoided a rebuke at her obvious breach of curfew. In any case, even had the Fat Lady been awake, it was no strange thing for Lily to wander the castle corridors after hours and rarely was she scolded for such behavior. Lily supposed, as she stuck her hands in her pockets and strolled slowly down the corridor that the Fat Lady had something of a blind eye to the misdeeds of the Potter children – it had been the same with James.

As expected for such a late hour the corridors were vacant, lit only by the moonlight shining through tall windows and the occasional low-burning torch. Lily doubted that any professors would be out patrolling this late but even so she would have felt better with the Marauder's Map in hand. Most likely it was stowed away in the dingy office of Argus Filch, who did not know what the Map was but who had confiscated it on principle when he had caught Albus out after curfew.

Keen for something to keep her mind occupied, and feeling a little rebellious, Lily abruptly changed her course, spinning to head the opposite way down the nearest flight of stairs in the direction of Filch's office.

_Filch won't even notice it missing_, Lily thought as she moved more quickly through the halls.

A few short minutes later Lily arrived at the caretaker's office without even the whisper of someone else in the corridors. She stared for a moment at the simple wooden door, drew her wand, whispered, "_Alohamora_," and the door swung open with an ominous creak.

"_Lumos_," Lily breathed and the small, cramped space was suddenly lit with the bright light from her wand. Despite its small size the office clearly reflected Filch's distaste of anything dirty or out of place. Filing cabinets neatly lined the walls and the desk was covered in neat stacks of parchment.

Lily browsed the labeled cabinets until she found the drawer labeled _Confiscated and Highly Dangerous_. She grinned and pulled it open. Something in the drawer began growling and Lily hesitated but caught sight of an ancient looking Fanged Frisbee in the back and rolled her eyes. After very little searching she found the Marauder's Map shoved into one of the front corners looking rumpled and a little worse for wear but definitely intact. Indeed, to Lily, parchment nearly forty years old had never looked so good.

Lily pocketed the Map in her robes, hid the Fanged Frisbee on the seat of Filch's chair on a whim, and left the office.

On her way back to the Common Room Lily took the Map out from her pocket and thought about how relieved Albus would be that it was no longer in the hands of Argus Filch. Smiling, Lily pointed her wand to the parchment and quietly recited, "_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good_."

Ink immediately began to spiral and swirl to the edges of the Map revealing, as always, the layout of Hogwarts and the location of everyone inside of it. As Lily strolled down the hall she noted without surprise that most of the black dots were bundled in the house dormitories with a lone dot here or there for the professors. She found herself on the fourth floor and then another moving dot caught her eye.

Lily stopped abruptly and thought that perhaps one of the professors was still out patrolling the castle. When she read the name _Pansy Parkinson_ her brow furrowed.

It was probably one of the younger students in one of the other houses. There were not all that many students at Hogwarts but Lily certainly did not know _all _of them and it was quite possible that Pansy was a student she had never met. As Lily continued to stare at the Map she watched as Pansy Parkinson moved quickly through the corridors towards the Great Hall, almost directly beneath where Lily was currently standing.

Her curiosity was peaked and, already out after hours _anyway_, it did not take Lily long to decide to head towards the Great Hall and investigate. She turned abruptly and made for the stairs behind her, quietly and deftly descending without tripping up on any of the trick stairs. When she reached the bottom she took one more glance at the Map before wiping it clean. Pansy Parkinson was just around the corner of the stairs and she peered around the stone wall cautiously.

She could not stop a gasp from escaping when she saw that Pansy Parkinson was not, as she had previously assumed, a student but rather a middle-aged woman. Lily clapped a hand to her mouth but it was too late. In the silence of the castle Pansy had heard her gasp and turned before Lily could hide herself.

Her legs felt frozen as she watched a sickly smile spread over the mysterious woman's face but her arms at least were still functioning properly. She flung her hands behind her back, one clutching the blank Map, the other her wand.

"Come out, darling, it's quite all right," Pansy Parkinson called in a honeyed voice. Lily did not even consider believing her. This strange woman was lurking in Hogwarts in the middle of the night and Lily could see her eyes glinting strangely in the torchlight. It made her look deranged.

"What are you doing out this time of night?" Parkinson said, still in her sweetened tone. "It's very late and you should be in bed."

Lily said nothing and backed away but this only succeeded in bringing her straight into view. Pansy took a step towards her and Lily took another step back.

"What's your name, dear?"

Still Lily said nothing. She was keenly aware of the wand gripped tightly in her fist but no spell was coming to mind nor was she entirely confident that she should attack at all. She was most certainly out of her element. The next time Pansy spoke her voice was harsher and there was no smile on her face.

"What _exactly_ are you doing wandering the castle at this time of night?"

Still backing away, Lily finally found her voice. "I left some homework in the library," she said weakly, holding up the Marauder's Map and hoping that in the dim light Pansy would not see that it was blank. "I'm leaving – going back to my Common Room now."

"Well I don't think you are," Pansy answered. Lily's back hit the stone wall behind her. Her grip on her wand tightened convulsively but she was at a loss of what to do with it.

Pansy smiled again but it was even more disturbing than before. "I'm afraid I can't have anyone knowing I was here," she said lightly. "Just in case. And that includes _you_."

Pansy raised her own wand and Lily's eyes widened.

"_Oblivi_ – "

In sudden desperation and acting entirely on instinct Lily threw her arms out to shove the woman away. Pansy Parkinson let out a surprised grunt before she could finish the spell as Lily's hands pushed hard at her shoulders. Frantically trying to shove the woman away one of Lily's flailing hands closed around a chain that hung around Pansy's neck. It pulled apart as the woman jerked away.

Lily fell hard on the floor, her hand still clasped around her wand and the chain she had torn from Parkinson's neck.

"You little _brat_," Pansy whispered shrilly and raised her wand again before she froze, her eyes wide and locked on the Lily's hand.

Lily flinched and then turned towards her hand as well. Dangling from the chain was a small, shimmering hourglass. A time turner.

_Illegal. Dangerous_._  
><em>

The sand tipped back and forth as the tiny object swung on its chain.

Lily began to scoot awkwardly away from Pansy without drastically disturbing the time turner but Pansy lunged after her and Lily screamed. With the woman practically on top of her and the corridor lit only by a few torches Lily could not make sense of anything she was seeing. She felt long fingernails scratching at her, trying to pry open her grip and she pushed with her legs to shove Pansy off of her. She dropped the Map and tried to push herself up one-handed, but did not dare let go of her wand or the tiny hourglass.

Pansy's hands suddenly gripped at her neck and pushed her back onto the floor. Lily screamed again but from the pressure on her windpipe it sounded hoarse and strangled.

Trying to aim her wand, Lily's arm flailed against the woman strangling her and one swing flung the time turner and her wand from her grip. The tiny hourglass rose into the air above them and Pansy shouted, "_NO!_"

Parkinson leapt off of Lily to try and catch the time turner but it was too dark in the corridor and she flung her arms out in vain. The hourglass shimmered in the torchlight and the two of them watched as it began to fall to the ground as if in slow motion. Lily never saw Pansy Parkinson's wand directed straight at her head.

* * *

><p>"Okay, stop," Teddy whispered and placed his hand gently on Al's to still it. Albus grasped the time turner tightly and held it still. He had expected to feel dizzy or disoriented but in fact it felt as though he and Teddy had not moved at all, much less traveled back in time. The corridor looked exactly as it had a few weeks in the future except that James was nowhere to be seen.<p>

In fact there was no sign of _anyone_ in dark Entrance Hall. _Are we too early?_ Al wondered, a twinge of fear gripping his chest. _Are we too late?_ He did not know exactly where they had found the clues of Lily's disappearance but he had assumed it would be obvious once they came back.

"What if we counted wrong," he asked Teddy quietly, still clutching the time turner firmly. "How are we supposed to know?"

Teddy looked as uncertain as Al felt and this only heightened his nerves. There was no way of knowing whether or not they had come to the right place. This was their one chance to save Lily and if something went wrong…. Albus did not want to even think about what sort of consequences that would bring about.

He had of course considered that the plan was flawed but for the first time real doubts entered Al's mind and he shuddered.

"We got it right," Teddy said firmly, but not quite as confidently as Albus would have liked. "James did the calculations, he checked and double-checked them. This has to be it. We might just be a little early, that's all. We'll just have to wait."

"Why don't we have a look around?" Al offered, not at all eager to sit and wait and contemplate the countless ways in which they were currently breaking the law.

Teddy nodded and Al shrugged off the Invisibility Cloak. For a moment it looked as though he were alone but then Teddy emerged and bundled the Cloak into his jacket.

"Wands out?" Al suggested with a sidelong glance at Teddy, who nodded and drew his own.

"I'll head this way, you take that corridor," Teddy said, nodding to indicate which direction they would each be going. "If you see anything shout, and I'll come running. Same if you hear me." Al nodded. Teddy put a hand on Albus's shoulder and whispered, "Lily's here somewhere, Al. She's _here_. Let's go make sure it stays that way."

With the thought of Lily actually _in_ the castle with them, Al's confidence in what they were doing returned full-force. He was positively brimming now with determination to save his little sister from whatever had happened to her, and he would do whatever it took.

"Well what are we waiting for," he said brusquely, clapped Teddy on the shoulder, and started towards the corridor he would be inspecting first. After a moment his own footsteps were the only ones he heard and he focused himself entirely on looking for any clues that Lily might be out and about somewhere close.

Slow minutes passed as Al searched the familiar halls for anything out of place. He did not cover much ground as he did not want to wander too far from the Great Hall and he froze at any sound, straining his ears to listen. Once or twice he could have sworn he heard footsteps but he was never able to tell from which direction they were coming. For all he knew, they belonged to Teddy. He was just turning to retrace his steps back to the Great Hall when he really _did _hear something.

Lily screamed.

Albus recognized the piercing yell as his sister's immediately and it was as though something very cold were squeezing his heart. His hand gripped his wand convulsively and he broke into a run, sprinting in the direction of the scream. His feet pounded on the stone floor of the corridor and his breathing hitched in his throat as he forced himself to go as fast as possible. Al darted around the corner and then he saw them.

His legs slowed of their own accord at the sight of his sister, his first sight of her in weeks. She was struggling under the weight of the woman attacking her. As he sped up again, aiming his wand, Lily screamed again, this time sounding like there was pressure against her throat.

As Al prepared to stun Lily's attacker (_Pansy Parkinson_, some part of his brain registered), a bright glimmer of glass caught his eye and Pansy's shout of, _"NO!"_ distracted him. He saw it, the time turner, hurtling into the air and falling again, falling towards Lily, and in an instant Al imagined his sister disappearing before his very eyes while he stood there and did nothing. Pansy flung her arms wildly before turning her wand on Lily. "_Obliv – " _she started and it was this that spurred Albus into action.

"_ACCIO!"_

His shout seemed to stop everything. Everything froze for a moment in Al's mind. He felt cool glass slip into his waiting hand and he stood, shocked, unable to even breathe a sigh of relief as he stared at what was now the second time turner in his possession.

Pansy Parkinson no longer had her wand pointed at Lily. It was now directed at Albus from across the corridor and she was staring at him with a crazed expression. Lily too was staring at Al, wide-eyed and clearly frightened and Albus had never in his whole life been happier to see her.

There was little time for relief though, as Pansy had recovered quickly and was now stalking towards Albus, still aiming her wand at his chest. Her blond hair was extremely disheveled, his robes were torn, and she looked deranged. Albus stood frozen, time turner in hand, one in his pocket, and stood silently as he watched Parkinson's manic expression. He had saved Lily, but was at a complete loss as to what to do next. They had not planned this far ahead.

"Give me the time turner," Parkinson ordered him. Albus made no move to do so. "_GIVE IT TO ME!" _she shoutled and Al flinched. He took a step away from her and she moved her wand to aim straight between his eyes.

"Another _Potter_," she spat, eyeing him up and down. "You look just like your father." Her tone clearly indicated that this was in no way a positive thing. Still, Al could think of nothing to do that would not put the time turner or Lily in danger. With a glance over Pansy's shoulder he saw Lily frantically searching on the ground and realized that she must have dropped her wand, probably in her scuffle with Parkinson. He turned his attention back to the blond woman and sought around for some way to keep her distracted until Lily found her wand.

"You wouldn't dare risk hitting this," he said, with a jerk of the time turner. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he watched her, wand aimed between his eyes. But he kept talking. "Soon, they'll notice what's happened. How you attacked Terry Boot in the Department of Mysteries, modified his memory, and stole this time turner. And you'll never get your hands on another one."

Pansy froze. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly agape. "You can't possibly know any of that," she whispered. "Who else knows that?"

Al swallowed hard. "My dad," he said, and really that was enough. "Now you've been found you're going to be arrested," he went on as confidently as possible.

But this was perhaps the wrong thing to say. Because Pansy Parkinson was now a woman whose plans had gone horribly awry and now had nothing to lose. She took a step towards Albus and he knew he had to keep her talking. Lily still had not found her wand. And _where_ was Teddy?

"What were you trying to do, anyway?" Albus asked her, and he genuinely wanted to know. But a moment later he wished he had not asked.

"I'm setting things right!" Pansy said shrilly. "I'm making sure _you_ will never have existed and your pathetic father dies at the hands of the greatest wizard who ever lived."

"Albus Dumbledore was the greatest wizard who ever lived," Al retorted.

Pansy laughed and the sound of it grated on his ears. "_Just_ like your father," she sneered. "But not for long."

Al thought he heard footsteps heading towards them and he relaxed ever so slightly. _Teddy must have heard_, he thought. But before his thought could bring him very much relief Pansy swung her wand down in an arc and his abdomen exploded in pain.

* * *

><p>Lily was almost in tears as she searched desperately for her wand. She crawled on her hands and knees across the stone floor, her fingers sweeping the ground as if she were lost in the dark. She did not know where Al had come from but he had certainly arrived just in time. And now he was staring down the end of Pansy Parkinson's wand and she could not do <em>anything<em> to help and _where_ was her damn wand?

Albus screamed and Lily's head flew up in time to see him falling backwards to the floor. Without thinking she darted forward and ran towards Parkinson, frantic to stop her. With no wand, Lily did the only thing she could think of and threw her weight as Pansy, grabbing her in a running tackle and the two of the them fell to the ground beside Al. Lily threw her hands out to brace herself from the fall and the slid in the blood that was pouring from her brother's side.

Lily did not register the pain in her knees or wrists from the fall. She was staring at the red now staining her hands and all she could hear was Albus's pained groan beside her. Pansy was already on her feet again and before Lily knew what was happening she felt herself fly across the corridor into the wall, her head colliding with the stone. She tried to yell but the impact had knocked the wind from her. She stared, blurry-eyed and unable to move, at her brother's bloodied form while Pansy Parkinson approached him. She felt tears on her cheeks and tried again to cry out but only a strangled sob escaped as she watched Parkinson take aim with her wand.

And then, miraculously, someone was running down the corridor towards them and a moment later Lily recognized Teddy. She neither knew nor cared how or why he was there. It was impossible, but so much of this did not make sense that Lily did not question Teddy's presence. She could only watch as a streak of red hit Pansy and ripped the wand from her grasp. Teddy caught the disarmed wand deftly. Pansy let out a shriek and made to move towards Teddy but he had his wand still trained on her and she froze. She was now defenseless and trapped and there was a wild expression on her face that made her look like a rabid animal.

There was silence for a moment and then Albus groaned again, his hands clutching his wand and the time turner and the gaping, bloody wound in his abdomen. Lily pushed herself onto all fours and, her arms shaking and her head throbbing, she pulled herself towards her brother.

Teddy approached as well, though his gaze stayed on Parkinson. He looked more furious that Lily had ever seen him. She nearly collapsed, nauseous and dizzy, when she finally reached Albus. She looked down at his pale and sweaty face and, when he saw her, he _smiled_.

"You're back," he said, and then closed his eyes as he winced in pain. Lily grabbed one of his hands and looked up at Teddy.

"What do we do?" she asked, tears still leaking from her eyes. "Teddy, what do we do?"

Teddy took his gaze from Parkinson for the first time to give Lily a reassuring smile. He didn't say anything, but approached Pansy, pulled back his fist, and slugged her under the chin. Pansy let out a surprised grunt as she fell to the floor beside Lily and a moment later Teddy stunned her and she fell unconscious.

"Teddy, we have to take Al to the Hospital Wing," Lily said in a wavering voice. "He's bleeding so much…."

"There's one more thing we have to do," Teddy told her, and he bent down to the floor on Al's other side. Gently, Teddy pried the now bloody hourglass from Albus's hand and the three of them stared at it for a moment. Then, with a complicated wave of his wand, Teddy vanished the time turner.

Lily's head throbbed painfully and she looked back down at Al's face. He was smiling again and looking back at her and tears blurred her vision. But when she wiped at her eyes, _everything_ looked blurry. It occurred to Lily dimly that she must have hit her head pretty hard on the wall because Al and Teddy were starting to fade from her vision. She watched as Teddy's hand reached out to her, a concerned expression on his face, but when Lily tried to grab it she went through him. It was like passing through a ghost. A moment later, Teddy and Al were nowhere to be seen and there was just a pool of blood on the floor and Lily fainted.

* * *

><p>Lily woke slowly, unconsciously pulling the heavily layered linen covers closer to her body to hold in the warmth that surrounded her. She kept her eyes shut, her drowsy mind slowly taking stock of her physical surroundings – the firm but lumpy pillow beneath her head, the starched, scratching feel of the sheets against her legs. She could not remember what she had been dreaming about but a vague sense of unease settled over her as she continued to wake up. While her thoughts continued to sluggishly creep to the surface Lily registered a light <em>tick tick tick<em> near her right ear.

For a moment Lily could not place the sound but she soon identified it as the soft tick of the second hand on her wrist watch. Although Lily never went to sleep with her watch still on there was no denying that she was now waking with it still firmly clasped on her wrist. A gift from her mother, Lily had always taken special care of delicate time piece, removing it each evening and placing it on her nightstand. So why was she wearing it now? Had she fallen asleep in the common room?

No. Lily was quite certain she was in bed. She opened her eyes to further inspect her surroundings but immediately shut them again due to a bright white glare that flashed at her eyes. For a moment they stung and watered and Lily let out a small, sleepy groan. She had never been particularly fond of mornings.

Taking more care to shield her eyes from the light, she rolled onto her back and lifted an arm over her face causing the muscles in her shoulder to protest painfully. Lily slowly peeked through her eyelids and her surroundings came into focus. The sun was shining brightly through a window right across from her and reflecting off the surprisingly white room. Pale stone walls, lines of white beds, white tables, white walls of curtains here and there along the room – the Hospital Wing.

_The Hospital Wing?_

Lily sat up and rubbed at her eyes. She tried to remember what had happened the day before, anything that could give her a clue as to why she would be waking up, sore and groggy, in the Hospital Wing. Her hair was loose and ruffled from sleep and it now fell into her eyes and to the sides of her face, the tousled red curtains contrasting sharply with the start white ward she occupied. She felt sore all over but after a quick mental inventory found that there were no obvious cuts or bruises.

As Lily sat there contemplating her sore muscles, Madame Pomfrey bustled into the room from her office and made her way swiftly to Lily's bedside.

"Up at last I see, Potter. I thought you were going to sleep the whole day away," she said in a business-like tone. At once she was waving her wand and muttering and shaking her head as Lily grimaced through the not-unfamiliar ordeal. While the matron conducted her cursory examination Lily could not help but inquire as to why she was in the Hospital Wing at all.

"We were hoping you could tell us," was all Madame Pomfrey said. "I'll just go inform the Headmistress that you're awake. She's been quite eager to speak with you."

Lily's brow furrowed as she watched the witch stroll purposefully from the ward. She thought back to the night before and had the sinking feeling that something terrible had happened. And then, in a rush, she remembered.

_Pansy Parkinson. Time turner. Albus. Blood. Teddy._

Lily's hands flew to her mouth as the night before came flooding back to her. She had been out after hours and encountered Pansy Parkinson, a blond, pug-faced woman with a sickening smile. She had tried to erase Lily's memory. Albus had shown up and saved her. And Teddy, Teddy had been there. And Al had been hurt. There had been so much blood…

Lily swung her legs over the side of the bed, her bare feet dangling, and leaned forward to rest her head on her knees. Her cheeks hurt and she felt sick to her stomach and dizzy. After a moment she looked up and her eyes searched the Infirmary but there was no sign of her brother – all the other beds were vacant. But there had been so much blood, she knew that. Perhaps they had taken him to St. Mungos?

"Ms. Potter, I'm glad to see you're awake."

Headmistress McGonagall strode into the ward with Madame Pomfrey at her side. The matron returned to her office while McGonagall took a seat next to Lily's bed.

"How are you feeling?"

_Terrible. _"Fine. A little sore. Where's Al?"

McGonagall's eyes narrowed slightly. "I would hope he is in his lesson," she said. "Although Madame Pomfrey tells me he has already been to visit you once this morning, after breakfast."

Lily bit her lip, confused. "He's all right then?"

"Is there any reason he wouldn't be?"

Lily felt something constrict in her chest. She remembered the blood on her hands, the sound of his pained groan, she remembered watching Albus fall to the ground –

– _a body falling in a graceful arc, plummeting to the earth bathed in an eerie green light – _

Lily blinked and shuddered. McGonagall was watching her with obvious concern.

"Are you feeling quite all right, Potter?"

Lily ran a shaking hand through her thoroughly disheveled hair. She shook her head. "He was hurt, there was blood _everywhere_ and I kept telling Teddy we had to get him to the Hospital... Wing…," but she trailed off at the expression on the older witch's face.

"Teddy Lupin?" she asked. Lily nodded hesitantly, feeling as though she was missing something very important.

"What else do you remember about last night, Ms. Potter?"

Lily thought back, trying to dredge up as many details as possible. "I was out after hours," she started, not meeting the Headmistress's eyes. "And I ran into a woman, near the Great Hall." She was careful to leave out the name and the Map. But McGonagall already knew who she was talking about.

"Yes, Pansy Parkinson. She has been handed into Auror custody."

Lily nodded and continued. "She had a time turner with her." McGonagall's eyebrows rose. This, apparently, was news to her. "And she tried to erase my memory. And then Al showed up and – and he got hurt. And then Teddy was there and he, well he vanished the time turner and then – "

Lily recalled the strange sensation of her hand passing through Teddy's. "And then I think I fainted," she finished somewhat lamely.

Professor McGonagall's expression was one of slightly unflattering disbelief and as Lily went over the story in her mind she supposed it _did_ sound a little far-fetched. The two of them sat in silence for a moment and Lily found it hard to meet the Headmistress's eyes. She was so _sure_ that was what had happened but… that was impossible.

Just as McGonagall straightened up and started to speak the doors of the Hospital Wing banged open and Albus rushed in, his hair a mess and his green and silver tie slung over his shoulder. He looked healthy, cheerful, not at all as though he had suffered any sort of severe blood loss the night before.

"Lily!" he exclaimed with a broad grin. "You're awake!"

_And you're… fine._ But she could still see it, so clearly, the image of her brother bleeding on the floor of the stone corridor. Lily could not muster a smile and Albus reached her and clapped her on the shoulder. Her body was still sore and her head ached.

"Mr. Potter, I'm glad you could join us," McGonagall said as Al pulled up a chair beside Lily's bed. "Your sister has been quite concerned about you."

Lily was still staring at her brother, half expecting him to fall over at any moment. "You're all right?" she asked, despite all signs that he was absolutely fine.

Al nodded and glanced curiously at the Headmistress. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because Pansy Parkinson attacked you last night! Right after you saved me! You were on the ground, bleeding _everywhere_ and –"

"Ms. Potter, that's enough," McGonagall cut in. Al had gone pale, his dark eyebrows pinched together in obvious confusion. "Lily," he began in a placating tone, "Lily, I didn't leave my dorm last night. They told me this morning that you were in the Infirmary. I don't know what…," he trailed off uncertainly.

"But you were there, I remember," Lily whispered. "You and Teddy both." She put her face into her hands and tried to ignore the uncomfortable twisting in her stomach. Something about this was all wrong.

"Teddy? Lily, Teddy's still out of the country. I wasn't there, I promise."

Over the next half an hour Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey concluded that Lily's head injury – she remembered colliding with the stone wall of the corridor – had jumbled her memory of the night and with no other logical explanation Lily was forced to agree with them. No one could explain _why_ she should come up with such an elaborate version of events but, as Madame Pomfrey said, there was quite a bit about the mind that even magic did not understand.

Eventually, when it was determined that Lily could recount nothing further from the previous night, the Headmistress left and Madame Pomfrey returned to her office. Albus, who had free periods for the rest of the afternoon, stayed but they did not talk any more about what had happened. Lily found an unusual amount of comfort in Al's presence. For some reason it felt as though she had not seen him for a very long time.

About an hour later her parents arrived, along with James, and even Teddy who had come back into the country after hearing the news of Lily's attack, even though he had been informed that she was fine. She was extraordinarily glad to see all of them. For hours all of them sat about in the Hospital Wing chatting and laughing and – in the case of her parents – reminiscing about their own days at Hogwarts.

"I didn't spend _that _much time in the Infirmary," Lily's dad was insisting but her mother merely rolled her eyes.

"Harry, if you weren't lying in one of the beds you were putting someone else in one," she said wryly.

And then, a voice.

_MURDER! MURDER IN THE BATHROOM!_

Lily felt all the breath leave her lungs in an instant. For a moment she could not hear anything. And then Teddy's laughter broke through and Lily's surroundings returned to her. No one seemed to have noticed anything was wrong and Lily, who was not sure _what_ had just happened, decided to pretend that it was nothing.

"Come on, you can't deny it," her mother was grinning and poking her husband in the ribs. "Always gallantly saving someone or other, weren't you?"

_Flames, streaks of spells, men in masks and a face - Harry - _

Lily shook her head and rubbed at her temples. _It's just a side-effect. You hit your head, you're not thinking clearly._ And she almost convinced herself. Because there was no other explanation, was there?

It was not until much later, when her family was preparing to leave for the evening, that the subject of Pansy Parkinson came up again. Lily was beginning to believe that the blow to her head truly had addled her memory and, while not a comforting thought, it was better than imagining her brother attacked and bleeding out on the floor. She grimaced at the thought and her dad put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Lily," he said. "Pansy Parkinson is going to prison for a long time. It was lucky you were there."

"And that you have such a mean right hook," James added with a laugh. Lily raised an eyebrow at him. He grinned. "I saw her when they brought her in," he explained. "She had a nasty bruise on her jaw."

Lily just sat there, confused. Teddy laughed.

Because of her head injury Madame Pomfrey insisted that Lily stay for one more night in the Hospital Wing, at which Lily shared a grimace with her dad. He rolled his eyes but sobered quickly when the matron turned on him with a fierce expression. Lily grinned at him from behind the witch's back.

Eventually her parents left with hugs and kisses and Teddy and her brothers with claps on the shoulder and – in James's case ruffling her already disorderly hair. Lily was sad to see them go but reminded herself that term would be over soon and she would be home for the summer. She had never been more eager for the end of the school year.

Lily drifted quickly into sleep, dreaming about greasy-haired professors, long-bearded wizards, hooded masked figures, and her parent's faces. And when she woke the next morning she almost believed that it had all been nothing more than a dream.

* * *

><p><strong>AN. End.<strong>


End file.
